Dropping the Apocalypse: The Palomares Broken Arrow Incident

During the height of the Cold War, the United States military operated under the "e;Chrome Dome"e; protocol-keeping B-52 bombers armed with live thermonuclear weapons in the air 24 hours a day to guarantee a retaliatory strike against the Soviets. It was a terrifying strategy that almost resulted in the accidental annihilation of a peaceful European village. In January 1966, a B-52 bomber collid...