US Air Force Drops Bomb off BC Coast

On February 13/14, 1950, during a mock nuclear bomb drop training exercise, two US Air Force planes departed from Alaska en route to Texas. Their flight plan was to keep them out of Canadian air space until they would come toward land to conduct manoeuvres over California. It was bitterly cold in Alaska, and from take-off the planes began to suffer a number of malfunctions.

As the planes approached Haida Gwaii it became apparent that a B 36 Bomber, carrying a Mark IV atomic bomb, was going down. The plane had multiple engine failure. The US Air Force was under strict orders not to let their bomb technology fall into enemy (Russian) hands, and the crew jettisoned the bomb over the Pacific Ocean (reportedly without the fuse device that would ignite a nuclear explosion) before parachuting down over the Inside Passage. There were 17 crew members on board, and 12 were rescued after they were found on Princess Royal Island.

 The crew were taken to Port Hardy, where the historical photo of the week shows them warming up after their ordeal. 

The plane, originally thought lost in the ocean, was eventually located near Smithers, BC. For more information about the crash check out the book Lost Nuke: The Last Flight of Bomber 075 by Dirk Septer.

http://scalar.usc.edu/works/brokenarrowproject/map-of-missing-british-columbia-bomb---1