US atomic bomb lost off Greenland since 1968

US military installation at Greenland, established that the Americans searched for but never found a nuclear bomb after studying base archives

August 13, 2000, 11:16 PM WASHINGTON (AFP English) - The United States government has for years covered up the loss of an atomic bomb from a B-52 which crashed off the coast of Greenland in 1968, the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten revealed Sunday. Staff at a US military installation at Thule, located in the northwest of the island, established that "the Americans searched for but never found a nuclear bomb with the serial number 78252" after studying base archives.

"Furthermore, US authorities hid the disappearance of this nuclear bomb on Danish territory from the Danish authorities," Mogens Bosen, the secretary of a base employees group, told the paper.

The report, published at a time when the US is seeking to expand the base and install upgraded missile defense installations, said the B-52 bomber smashed into the sea close to the base on January 21, 1968.

It said just three of the four nuclear bombs on board the high-altitude bomber were recovered.

An official report penned by US General Edward B. Giller in March 1968 and obtained by the staff said all that was found of the missing nuclear bomb was a parachute needed to arm it.

It was not clear if the parachute had been deployed and the bomb armed.

The paper said employees at the Thule base had hired an American lawyer to research the top secret documents related to the incident.

http://www.arabia.com/article/0,1690,News|26926,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), August 13, 2000