Losing a Nuclear Bomb: The 1958 Tybee Island Mid-Air Collision
Quick answer: What happened in the Tybee Island incident?
On February 5, 1958, a B-47 bomber on a training mission collided with an F-86 fighter near Savannah, Georgia. Pilot Howard Richardson jettisoned the 7,600-pound Mark 15 nuclear bomb into the waters off Tybee Island before landing the damaged bomber safely. The bomb has never been found.
On February 5, 1958, a B-47 bomber from Homestead Air Force Base in Florida was flying a simulated combat mission carrying a 7,600-pound Mark 15 nuclear bomb. At about 2 a.m., near the Georgia and South Carolina border, an F-86 fighter on a training intercept collided with it. The fighter pilot ejected. The bomber dropped thousands of feet before its pilot, Howard Richardson, regained control. One engine hung down at a 45-degree angle and a fuel tank was gone. Richardson, an experienced B-47 instructor, descended, lowered his gear and flaps, and tested whether the airplane could be landed at slow speed. Rather than risk the weapon on a runway he couldn't fully see, the crew asked permission to jettison it, and released it at 7,200 feet over the water off Tybee Island near Savannah. He then landed safely at Hunter Air Force Base. The Air Force maintains the bomb lacked its nuclear capsule, though 1966 congressional testimony described it as a complete weapon. Despite repeated searches, it has never been recovered. Richardson flew B-52s afterward, retired in 1973 after 31 years, and died in 2018 at 96. John holds up his discretion and judgment under pressure.
Why it matters for leaders: In an emergency, the right call often comes from staying calm long enough to test your options before committing.
Q: Was the Tybee bomb armed?
A: The Air Force says its nuclear capsule had been removed, but a 1966 congressional statement by Assistant Secretary of Defense W.J. Howard described it as a complete weapon. The question remains disputed.
Q: Has the bomb been found?
A: No. Searches in 1958 and later reviews, including a 2001 Air Force report, did not recover it.
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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation