Remove the atomic bomb nib - the world's most cold-haired job

A scientist has twice removed the atomic bomb, the work is said to be "cold haired" most in the world.

In the spring of 1952, the US government conducted a tactical nuclear weapons test at the Nevada test site as part of the Tumbler-Snapper campaign. This is the third series of nuclear tests in just 18 months in Nevada between the era of nuclear weapons explosion.

At 4:00 am on May 13, one of the Tumbler-Snapper bombs - codenamed 'Fox' - was planned to be fired from the launch. But the moment passed without any fireball curling up in the sky.

The "Fox" shot was sprayed. Stuck atop the 91-meter-high launch tower between the Yucca Flat basin (one of four Nevada nuclear test main nuclear test sites), this 15-kiloton malfunctioning bomb poses a serious risk of destruction. for organisms that live within a mile radius.

Someone must remove the bomb . This will be one of the most dangerous, most sophisticated jobs in the world.

The picture illustrates a nuclear explosion.

In fact, the Fox bomb test plan started quite well. The night before H at Yucca Flat's Zone 4, Dr. John C. Clark of the National Atomic Energy Commission joined leading scientists to witness the explosion at a checkpoint a few miles away. . In addition, about 500 US military observers and 950 soldiers of 701 armored infantry battalions - 1st Armored Division, also witnessed a nuclear test from a place just away from Ground Zero (place on the ground). the closest to the location of the nuclear explosion several miles away.

Psychologists from George Washington University and Johns Hopkins were prepared to assess the 'observers' reaction to atomic destruction. Hundreds of 701 battalion soldiers turned out to be "white mice" for scientists to assess the lightening effect, burning and shock waves of the bomb in field conditions.

The countdown timer ran so fast H, but then . nothing happened.

In the later moments of despair, 701 battalion and its viewers still waited in silence. The launch team is constantly reviewing complex technical equipment and connecting lines to find out the reason for the failure. The final test operators asked soldiers and supervisors to leave the test area and the observation seat.

John Clark was the commander of the firing squad, so the bomb was his responsibility. He proposed a plan to disable "Fox" with the bomb testing director, Dr. Alvin Graves, then the group shot for an hour to come up with a detailed procedure for detonating and checking.

John Clark was the one who detonated more nuclear weapons than anyone else in the world. Only months before the Fox bomb test, Clark disarmed another atom bomb. In October 1951, a nuclear warhead bearing the Buster-Jangle Campaign "Sugar" was also sprayed at the Nevada test site. Clark spent two hours "brain damage" to disarm the device with this 1.2 kiloton capacity.

However, Clark did not work alone, but besides him there were other engineers Herb Grier and Barnie O'Keefe - both from EG&G nuclear contractor - and were experts with knowledgeable knowledge. The electronic system inside the "Fox" bomb They started tossing coins to see who would perform this dangerous mission with Clark and eventually O'Keefe won.

At 6:15 am, carrying only a few ropes, some testing tools and a hacksaw, Clark and O'Keefe and physicist John Wieneke drove out of Zone 4, starting a dangerous mission. At the foot of the 91-meter-high tower with the atomic bomb at the top, without an elevator, the only three men left to climb up. About 30 meters away, they took a break, then continued climbing, heading to the closed chamber containing the "hot" atomic bomb .

Mark V. Atomic bomb shell (Photo: nuclearweaponsarchive).

Clark used a chainsaw to cut the wire mark he had twisted into place, and the group bent over the "hot" weapon . O'Keefe took the phone on the wall, connected to the Bomb Test director, Dr. Alvin Graves.

With bare hands, Clark removed the outer covers, reaching the wire and electronic network inside Mark Mark's bomb. During Wieneke reviewing the list of procedures for checking a nuclear disarmament, Clark Carefully locate and disable core systems, including atomic reactors.

They worked so hard and sweaty because everyone was aware that the thing they were touching was so dangerous, the bomb could explode at any time. Furthermore, if the nuclear material is not activated, the device still contains a large amount of explosives enough to blow away the launch tower, and everything, everyone on it.

At the end of his death job, Clark also asked Dr. Graves to send a nuclear engineer to join their team to remove the bomb's Plutonium core. The early American nuclear weapons - whether in trial or already used on the battlefield - are separated from the kernel core from the shell for security purposes. Special small doors in the atomic bomb section allow the engineering team to insert the core inside or remove it.

The investigation later found the cause of the test failure: not because of the circuit of the bomb, but in a system of measuring equipment . A device was unable to turn on and turn off the automatic activation process so the bomb did not launch.

Twelve days later, on May 25, 1952, Clark finally witnessed Fox explode - this time perfect.