Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958
[Marker Front]
In 1958, in the midst of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force accidentally dropped an atomic bomb near here.
The unarmed 7,600-lb., 10'8"-long bomb was aboard a B-47E bomber on a training mission headed for England. Its high-explosive trigger detonated on impact, making a crater as large as 35 feet deep and 70 feet wide.
[Marker Reverse]
The bomb landed in the woods behind the asbestos-shingle sided home of railroad conductor Walter “Bill” Gregg (b.1921). Gregg, his wife, their three children, and a niece were injured by the concussion, which destroyed the house and out-buildings and did slight damage to buildings within a 5-mile radius.
Marker is at the intersection of East Palmetto Street (U.S. 76) and University Road, on the right when traveling west on East Palmetto Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
