In 1958, an unfortunate series of events high in the air over the Pee Dee region of the Palmetto State led to the U.S. Government accidentally dropping a nuclear device on a family farm in Florence County. The effects were shocking.
Fifty nine years ago next month a bomb was dropped on South Carolina.
Facebook/Florence County Museum The accident occurred as a U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojet was making its way to the United Kingdom for training exercises.
The plane was carrying a Mark 6 nuclear bomb, a 1950s plutonium implosion weapon.
Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Government While in flight and over Florence County, the navigator made a grave error.
Wikimedia Commons/DTMedia2
He mistakenly pulled the emergency release pin and the bomb dropped out of the plane, landing on this family farm in Florence County.
Facebook/Florence County Museum The resulting explosion injured several people, damaged homes for as far as five miles away, and left a crater 25-feet deep and 75-feet wide.
It happened in the farming community of Mars Bluff, South Carolina.
Flickr/Kelly Michals Thankfully, no one was killed by this unfortunate event.
You can visit the site of the Mars Bluff bombing.
Flickr/Kelly Michals It’s located on Crater Road, approximately 6.5 miles east of Florence, South Carolina.
Want to see artifacts from the bomb?
Facebook/Florence County Museum The Florence County Museum, located at 111 W Cheves St. Florence, has actual fragments of the Mark 6 bomb that dropped on the Palmetto State.
Did you know about this event from so long ago in South Carolina? And have you ever visited the site of the Mars Bluff bombing? We’d love to know the answer to both so join the discussion in the comments below!
Facebook/Florence County Museum
The accident occurred as a U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojet was making its way to the United Kingdom for training exercises.
Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Government
While in flight and over Florence County, the navigator made a grave error.
Wikimedia Commons/DTMedia2
The resulting explosion injured several people, damaged homes for as far as five miles away, and left a crater 25-feet deep and 75-feet wide.
Flickr/Kelly Michals
Thankfully, no one was killed by this unfortunate event.
It’s located on Crater Road, approximately 6.5 miles east of Florence, South Carolina.
The Florence County Museum, located at 111 W Cheves St. Florence, has actual fragments of the Mark 6 bomb that dropped on the Palmetto State.
For more bizarre South Carolina events, here are 8 Insane Things That Happened In South Carolina That You Won’t Find In History Books.
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