The Day We Lost the H-Bomb

Welles, “Eisenhower Gets Franco’s Support,” December 23, 1959, p. 11; Benjamin Welles, “Franco Aide’s Visit to Highlight Improving U.S. Ties with Spain,” December 30, 1959, p. 3.

68 Spain slowly began to climb: Details on Spain’s economic recovery come from “Spain: The Awakening Land,” Time, January 21, 1966, pp. 26–39; Bart McDowell and Albert Moldvay, “The Changing Face of Old Spain,” National Geographic, March 1965, pp. 291– 341.

68 The Spanish magazine ?Hola!: Author’s reading of ?Hola! magazine.

69 keeping a lid on the press: Bill Moyers, letter to Flora Lewis, August 11, 1966: The Spanish government “was acutely sensitive to any public statements made about the incident and the presence of nuclear weapons.”

69 On the day of the accident: The first few days of press coverage are detailed in Cable, CSAF to Joint Chiefs of Staff et al., January 19, 1966, #59032 (LBJ); SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 311–312; Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #855 (LBJ); Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #856 (LBJ).

70 Duke sat down to discuss: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 21, 1966, #869 (LBJ); Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #855 (LBJ).

70 Although the U.S. military had stored nuclear weapons: To the best of the author’s knowledge, the United States has never publicly admitted storing nuclear weapons in Spain. However, the fact of their existence has long been accepted. See Robert S. Norris, William M. Arkin, and William Burr, “Where They Were,” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November-December 1999, pp. 26 ff.

70 “The subject was still very touchy”: Joseph Smith interview, August 9, 2007.

71 On January 19, a secret cable: Cable, CSAF to Joint Chiefs of Staff et al., January 19, 1966, #59032 (LBJ).

71 A young reporter: Andro del Amo’s story is told in Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, pp. 107–116, and SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 314–315.

73 Duke got wind of del Amo’s dispatch: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #857 (LBJ).

73 Exercising its iron grip: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 21, 1966, #869 (LBJ).

74 the UPI article landed on Franco’s desk: The fallout over the UPI article is detailed in Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 22, 1966, #871 (LBJ).

75 “the only friend we really had”: George Landau interview, August 9, 2007.

75 Munoz Grandes’s decree: Author’s interviews with George Landau, August 9, 2007, and Joseph Smith, January 23, 2007. See also Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, pp. 98–99, and Howard Simons, “Some Experts Fear Strategic Loss if Curbs Are Put on Nuclear Routes,” The Washington Post, February 27, 1966, p. A1.

76 Believe we must be prepared: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 22, 1966, #871 (LBJ).

CHAPTER 5: PARACHUTES

77 Joe Ramirez pushed aside: Joe Ramirez interview, January 27, 2007.

79 had found the combat mission folder: SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 39–40.

79 General Wilson realized: Ibid., p. 75.

79 “Until every avenue of search”: Ibid.

79 Hundreds of searchers: Ibid., pp. 81–82, 89–90; author’s interviews with Robert Finkel, April 4, 2007, and Phil Durbin, March 15, 2007.

80 Wilson’s men got organized: The ground search is described in SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 95–98; see also author’s interviews with Walter Vornbrock, April 23, 2008, and Phil Durbin, March 15, 2007.

80 a reservoir — a piece of a bomb: SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 42–43.

80 a searcher found a round metal plate: Ibid., pp. 40–42; Cable, from 16th AF Torrejon AB Spain to RUEKDA/Secretary of Defense, January, 1966, #61642 (LBJ); Randall C. Maydew, America’s Lost H-Bomb! Palo mares, Spain, 1966 (Manhattan, Kans.: Sunflower University Press, 1997), p. 54.

81 The engineers at Sandia: The background on Sandia comes from author’s interviews with William Barton, January 22, 2004, and October 23, 2006; William Caudle, January 22, 2004; Sam McAlees, October 23, 2006; William Pepper, October 21, 2006; and Rebecca Ulrich, October 24, 2006. For additional information on the history of Sandia National Laboratories, see Necah Furman, Sandia National Laboratories: The Postwar Decade (Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, 1989), and Leland John son, Sandia National Laboratories: A History of Exceptional Service in the National Interest (Albuquerque, N.M.: Sandia National Laboratories, 1997).

81 he called Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara: Letter, Bill Moyers to Flora Lewis, August 11, 1966. The author found no record of this conversation in the Johnson telephone archive, but not all telephone calls were recorded.

81 Word was passed to Jack Howard: Author’s interview with Jack Howard, April 3, 2007; Memo, R. C. Maydew and W R. Barton to G. A. Fowler, “Chronological Summary of Significant Events in the 9300 Participation in Broken Arrow Operation,” March 29, 1966 (Randall Maydew files, SNL).

81 Pope called Randy Maydew: Randall Maydew, oral history, conducted by Necah Furman, December 1991, p. 5 (SNL).

82 High-energy and hyperactive: The background on Randy Maydew comes primarily from author’s interview with Jean and Barbara Maydew, October 21, 2006. Additional information is from interviews with William Barton, January 22, 2004, and October 23, 2006; William Caudle, January 22, 2004; and Sam McAlees, October 23, 2006.

82 when he got the call: Maydew, America’s Lost H-Bomb, pp. x, 43–44, 54; Randall Maydew, oral history, conducted by Necah Furman, December 1991, p. 5 (SNL).

82 The parachute question was critical: The explanation of the Mark 28 parachute system comes from Maydew, America’s Lost H-Bomb, pp. 21–24; “Description of Normal Operation,” document #SAC200118830000 (NNSA, FOIA); Randall Maydew, oral history, conducted by Necah Furman, December 1991, pp. 2–3 (SNL); Gibson, Nuclear Weapons of the United States, pp. 99–100.

82 Sandia had developed this “laydown system”: Furman, Sandia National Laboratories, pp. 648–660; Johnson, Sandia National Laboratories, pp. 63– 69; Randall Maydew, oral history, August 22, 1985 (SNL).

82 According to intelligence experts: National Intelligence Estimate 11-4-61: Main Trends in Soviet Capabilities and Policies, 1961–1966, U.S. Director of Central Intelligence (RG 263, Box 16, Folder 9, NARA).

83 The three bombs found on land: There are some minor disagreements about the speed at which bombs numbers one to three hit the ground. These numbers come from Randall Maydew, oral history, conducted by Necah Furman, December 1991, p. 3 (SNL).

84 Since bomb number four’s tail plate: Randall Maydew, oral history, August 22, 1985, pp. 11–12 (SNL); Maydew, America’s Lost H-Bomb, pp. 53–54. Maydew’s chronology is somewhat jumbled; the tail plate was found by January 20, well before Maydew left for Spain.

84 37° 13.9? N, 01° 42.3’ W: SAC Historical Study #109, p. 48. The author typed these coordinates into atlas.mapquest.com/maps/latlong.adp to verify that they were in the Mediterranean, closer to Africa than to Spain.

84 On January 27, General Wilson requested: Memo, Maydew and Barton to Fowler,