It got buried last time and nobody saw it, so I'm pathetically re-upping it. ============================= In January 1968, a US B-52G took off from Plattsburgh AFB in New York and headed for the Arctic Circle. This bomber was carrying 5 crew members and 2 spares. Five hours after takeoff, the B-52G received aerial refueling from a KC-135. They had to do it manually due to an autopilot error, but other than that, there were no major issues. Then, an hour after refueling (6 hours into the flight), the co-pilot swapped seats with a spare pilot to take a break.
Location of Plattsburgh AFB. It's closed now.
A B-52 and KC-135 during aerial refueling (Not the actual plane from the accident). However, while flying over the Arctic, the cabin of the B-52G was freezing. Even with the heater dial turned to max, things didn't improve. They opened the bleed air valves more to raise the temp, but due to a system failure, blistering hot air blasted right in. About 30 minutes later, a seat cushion caught fire and they failed to put it out. Eventually, they attempted an emergency landing at Thule Air Base in Greenland.
Location of the US Thule Air Base in Danish Greenland.
View of Thule Base. However, due to smoke and a power outage, they gave up on the emergency landing and decided to eject. One crew member died during this process.
The B-52's ejection system. The crew was rescued with the help of the local Inuit, but the crashed aircraft was carrying four nuclear bombs.
The B28FI nuclear bomb model. The bombs were damaged, causing radioactive contamination. The US carried out a cleanup operation, collecting contaminated ice and transporting it back to the mainland.
Later, through 'Thulegate,' it was revealed that the Danish government had secretly turned a blind eye to the US deploying nukes there, causing a massive controversy. Meanwhile, near Thule Base, there was an underground base called 'Camp Century.'
Camp Century was disguised as a scientific research station, but in reality, it was the testing ground for 'Project Iceworm,' which aimed to deploy about 600 nuclear missiles under the ice.
However, the base became deformed due to glacial movement and was closed in 1966. Now, due to global warming, the buried radioactive materials and contaminated water are at risk of being exposed.
"Users are baffled by the Cold War-era military madness and the sheer scale of the 'Project Iceworm' mess."
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