DASA 2019-2

238

After some time, within several hours, three of the weapons were

found, One was found in the dry river bed just to the east of the village,
right where the dry river bed joins the Mediterranean, Palomares

sits on the mesa about a mile from the beach. Between Palomares
and the beach are the ruins of the smelters which have fallen into
great decay, These ruina actually were used as political propaganda.
Pictures of these wrecked and ruined smelters were run in the Iron
Curtain country newspapers as part of the aftermath of the American
accident. And not only was that of some international political favor
but the Nuclear Disarmament Conference was meeting in Geneva at

the time of the accident; and when it became known, even thoughit

was not announced officially by either the Spanish or the United States
Governments, the Disarmament Conference was terminated.
EISENBUD:

The Western blocs walked out?

LANGHAM:

The Eastern blocs.

EISENBUD: How long after the accident was that?
LANGHAM: They walked cut immediately upon hearing of the ac-

cident even though it was not reported that nuclear weapons were involved, The Russians walked out of the Disarmament Conference and

so it was disrupted.

So this had internaticnal political trauma as

well, as much as did the Japanese incident.

L forgot to say that the first weapon, the one that fell in the dry
river bed, sustained only a detted nose and lost one fin. It was picked

up by the helicopter, put ona cruck bed and ralled away.

The second weapon completely overshot the village ax¢ landed in
the hills to the west of the community. The chute didn't !eploy; it
irmpacted at full velocity in the side of the mountain. When the high

explosive charge in the warhead went off the plutonium therein, of

course, was converted to the oxide, The fine dust of oxide was thrown
up with the dirt and bits and pieces of bomb casing into the air; the
wind was blowing down the valley toward the village at about 30 knots.
So the plutonium cloud drifted down towards the little village of
Palomares.

’ The third weapon to be found impacted right at the edge of the vil-

lage, 100 yards from city hall,

One moter pod and wing of the B-52

fell within 80 yards of a school yard where there were 70 or 80 children

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