Bomb Parts Found

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31587, 26 January 1968, Page 15

Bomb Parts Found

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) WASHINGTON, January 24. The United States Defence Department said today that pieces of nuclear bombs had been found at the site of the 852 bomber crash off the coast of Greenland.

It still had not been determined whether parts of the plane or of the four nuclear weapons carried on the plane went into or through the ice, the Pentagon said. The announcement today was-- the first official United States confirmation that the nuclear bomber which crashed near Thule, Greenland, was carrying four unarmed nuclear weapons. They are believed to be H-bombs with an explosive force of 1.1 megatons each, with a total force greater than that exploded over Hiroshima in the Second World War. The Pentagon has said there is no danger of a nuclear explosion. The announcement that pieces of the bombs themselves had been found raised hopes here that the weapons might not have gone through the ice to the bottom of the

bay, which ranges from 800 to 900 ft deep. The Pentagon said that the “pieces of weapons-associated hardware” were identified by the second dog-sled search team to reach the crash site. As in the case of the first team, which was on the site on Monday, yesterday’s team reported finding small amounts of radiation. Further search efforts were cancelled because of an approaching Arctic storm. The Air Force temporarily ruled out the use of helicopters because of the danger of sudden storms, but the second team built a wooden helicopter pad and a prefabricated shelter for use later in the search. The Defence Department said earlier today that preliminary findings at the crash site indicated the plane burned over an area of about 50 yards by 600 yards on the ice "It is possible that the aircraft exploded as a result of the impact, according to the survey team, since most of the parts of the plane found by the team are in small fragments in and around the burned areas,” the department’s statement said.