Missing Cold War nuclear bomb remains a mystery after Canadian navy investigates object found by diver

A Mark IV nuclear bomb
A Mark IV nuclear bomb Credit: US Government

A Cold War nuclear bomb is still missing after it turned out a diver's underwater discovery was not the atomic weapon weapon as first thought. 

The mystery of a "missing nuke" in Canada has baffled historians for more than half a century. 

Ever since an American B-36 Bomber crashed near British Columbia during a secret training mission in 1950, the nuclear bomb on board has never been found. 

Earlier this month, a commercial diver raised hopes that the Mark IV bomb had been discovered after he stumbled across an object in the waters off Canada's west coast

"I found something really weird, I think it's a UFO," Sean Smyrichinsky joked after he came ashore following the discovery near Banks Island.

It was "bigger than a king-size bed", flat on top with a rounded bottom and had a hole in the middle just "like a bagel," he told the BBC.

One of his friends, who had been in the area all his life, suggested: "Maybe you found that nuke they lost here in the 50s!"

The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) thought it merited further investigation and dispatched naval ships to the site on Tuesday.

Along with assistance from the diver, the HMCS Yellowknife investigated the wreckage, only to determine that the object was just a piece of steel machinery.

"We are pleased that HMCS Yellowknife was able to locate the object and determine that the object was not an unexploded military munition," said Commander Michele Tessier.

Returning from the trip, Mr Smyrichinsky wrote on Facebook: "Measurements show it to be over 15ft across and the only bombs that meet that size & shape have never been used in this part of the world. But, they don't know what it is..."

The bomber, which was on a mission to simulate a nuclear strike, was on its way to Carswell Air Force in Texas when its engines caught fire. The 17-person crew had to parachute out and five of them died.

The plane crashed on land but the bomb was not found amidst the wreckage. Crew members have said they ditched the bomb in the ocean first.

According to the American military, the bomb was packed with lead, uranium and TNT, but it was not capable of a nuclear explosion because it did not contain plutonium. 

"It was a mystery to everyone," Dirk Septer, an aviation historian from British Columbia, told the BBC. "It was the height of the Cold War and they were just paranoid that the Russians would get a hold of it."

 

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