Broken Arrow: How the U.S. Navy Lost a Nuclear Bomb
Douglas Webster was a young pilot from Ohio, newly married and with seventeen combat missions under his belt. On December 5, 1965 he strapped into an A-4 Skyhawk bomber for a routine weapons loading drill and simulated mission. After mishandling the maneuver, the plane and its pilot sunk to the bottom of the South China sea, along with a live B43 one-megaton thermonuclear bomb.



A cover-up mission began. The crew was ordered to stay quiet, rumors circulate of sabotage, a damaged weapon, and a troublesome pilot who needed "disposing of". The incident, a "Broken Arrow" in the parlance of the Pentagon, was kept under wraps until twenty-five years later. The details that emerged caused a diplomatic incident, revealing that the US had violated agreements not to bring nuclear weapons into Japan. Family members and the public only learned the truth when researchers discovered archived documents that disclosed the true location of the carrier, hundreds of miles closer to land than admitted.



For the first time, through previously classified documents, never before published photos of the accident aircraft and the recollections of those who were there, the story of carrier aviation's only "Broken Arrow" is told in full.
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Broken Arrow: How the U.S. Navy Lost a Nuclear Bomb
Douglas Webster was a young pilot from Ohio, newly married and with seventeen combat missions under his belt. On December 5, 1965 he strapped into an A-4 Skyhawk bomber for a routine weapons loading drill and simulated mission. After mishandling the maneuver, the plane and its pilot sunk to the bottom of the South China sea, along with a live B43 one-megaton thermonuclear bomb.



A cover-up mission began. The crew was ordered to stay quiet, rumors circulate of sabotage, a damaged weapon, and a troublesome pilot who needed "disposing of". The incident, a "Broken Arrow" in the parlance of the Pentagon, was kept under wraps until twenty-five years later. The details that emerged caused a diplomatic incident, revealing that the US had violated agreements not to bring nuclear weapons into Japan. Family members and the public only learned the truth when researchers discovered archived documents that disclosed the true location of the carrier, hundreds of miles closer to land than admitted.



For the first time, through previously classified documents, never before published photos of the accident aircraft and the recollections of those who were there, the story of carrier aviation's only "Broken Arrow" is told in full.
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Broken Arrow: How the U.S. Navy Lost a Nuclear Bomb

Broken Arrow: How the U.S. Navy Lost a Nuclear Bomb

by Jim Winchester

Narrated by Shawn Compton

Unabridged — 10 hours, 57 minutes

Broken Arrow: How the U.S. Navy Lost a Nuclear Bomb

Broken Arrow: How the U.S. Navy Lost a Nuclear Bomb

by Jim Winchester

Narrated by Shawn Compton

Unabridged — 10 hours, 57 minutes

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Overview

Douglas Webster was a young pilot from Ohio, newly married and with seventeen combat missions under his belt. On December 5, 1965 he strapped into an A-4 Skyhawk bomber for a routine weapons loading drill and simulated mission. After mishandling the maneuver, the plane and its pilot sunk to the bottom of the South China sea, along with a live B43 one-megaton thermonuclear bomb.



A cover-up mission began. The crew was ordered to stay quiet, rumors circulate of sabotage, a damaged weapon, and a troublesome pilot who needed "disposing of". The incident, a "Broken Arrow" in the parlance of the Pentagon, was kept under wraps until twenty-five years later. The details that emerged caused a diplomatic incident, revealing that the US had violated agreements not to bring nuclear weapons into Japan. Family members and the public only learned the truth when researchers discovered archived documents that disclosed the true location of the carrier, hundreds of miles closer to land than admitted.



For the first time, through previously classified documents, never before published photos of the accident aircraft and the recollections of those who were there, the story of carrier aviation's only "Broken Arrow" is told in full.

Editorial Reviews

Booklist

Winchester never loses sight of the human side of the story, remembering Webster with honor. Winchester’s informative and unnerving expose is a valuable contribution to the history of the navy, the cold war, and nuclear weapons.

Naval Aviation News

"...an entertaining look at what it was like to serve aboard an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War."

The Skyhawk Association Journal

"... very good account of the title event, the loss of the aircraft and pilot, and of the nuclear weapon during a combat deployment, and of life aboard a “giant” carrier."

Air Power History

"The pictures are generally good and relevant. One especially interesting addition was illustrations of the nuclear-specific and general-subject safety flyers routinely posted on board."

Barrett Tillman

In Broken Arrow, Jim Winchester illuminates a not-so-minor aspect of the overlapping Vietnam War and Cold War. In 1965 an A-4 Skyhawk carrying a nuclear weapon was lost overboard from USS Ticonderoga, with its unfortunate pilot. Through documents, interviews and analysis, Winchester’s thorough research probes deeply into the story, including official lies years after the incident became known."

The VVA Veteran

Jim Winchester summarizes the dilemma of nuclear weapon disasters across the years—at least to the degree that the services have made them public. Overall, he illuminates virtually every lesson available about the incident.

Booklist

Winchester never loses sight of the human side of the story, remembering Webster with honor. Winchester’s informative and unnerving expose is a valuable contribution to the history of the navy, the cold war, and nuclear weapons.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940176426595
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication date: 11/17/2020
Edition description: Unabridged
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