Broken Arrow: The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents

Using declassified government material James C. Oskins and Michael H. Maggelet have written the most comprehensive and detailed study of the thirty six known U.S. nuclear weapons accidents, known as "Broken Arrows". The authors have poured through government documents, aircraft accident reports, nuclear weapon incident and accident reports, and first hand accounts to shed light on the Department of Defense's vague summaries of nuclear weapons accidents. Their research dispels myths surrounding the Tybee and Goldsboro accidents, and provides great insight into the human element and the condition of individual weapons and AEC or DOD recovery operations regarding nearly every Broken Arrow. The underlying cause of such accidents, be it human error or equipment malfunction, is clearly shown in formerly secret reports and photographs.