1963 explosion involving 123,000 lbs. of HE components of obsolete nuclear weapons being disassembled.

USA / Texas / Lackland Air Force Base /
 Upload a photo

Often mistakenly designated as a Broken Arrow. It was not a Broken Arrow!
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   29°21'54"N   98°40'25"W

Comments

  • Whatever happened here was not a USAF Broken Arrow. According to the website which you copied (http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA390594) this information from, "The only known radioactive material dispersed as a result of the explosion was uranium metal that was comprised of both depleted and natural isotopic compositions. Fissile materials were not involved in the accident." No Nuclear Weapons were involved. No Government uses depleted and/or natural isotopic material.
  • I was at sam rayburn jr high when this happened remember seeing a mushroom cloud then the bang windows caved in but didnt break
  • Interesting- I was also in class at Sam Rayburn Jr. High School when that happened. Opened all the windows on that side of the classroom (they pivoted, and fortunately weren't latched, or they may have shattered). Tremendous cloud, and given the cold war atmosphere, we thought Russia had launched a nuclear attack.
  • I was a little boy of about three years old when this happened, we lived just a few miles from the base but I will never forget the tremendous explosion----it knocked me over and I could see the mushroom cloud. It was quite a sight and very frightening to a little boy! It also blew out one of the windows in our garage.
  • I was at lackland air force base basic training. I just got to the finish of the obstacle course when I felt the shock wave the the blast. It felt as if the ground had dropped beneath me about several feet(actually I was throne into the air by the blast). I look up and to see an enormous mushroom cloud. Never discussed this with anyone at the time, and never mentioned it to anyone. There must have been others on the course who had the same experience.
This article was last modified 17 years ago