Florence in Florence County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, October 16, 2009 1. Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958 Marker

Inscription.

Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958. . 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. . . 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.

Erected

Topics.

Location.

Other nearby markers.

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, October 16, 2009 2. Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958 Marker

Also see . . .

(Submitted on October 25, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

(Submitted on October 25, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

(Submitted on October 25, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, October 16, 2009 3. Wide view of the Marker

(Submitted on November 11, 2009, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina.)

Additional comments.

1. Controlling Access to the Site

By Paul Crumlish, May 7, 2011 4. The present-day view of the Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff crater

— Submitted December 3, 2011, by Chuck Norton of Hawkinsville, Georgia.

2.

By Paul Crumlish, May 7, 2011 5. Interpretative display at the Atomic Bomb Accident crater site A collection of newspaper clippings is on display, at the crater site, to recount the accident and surrounding events.

Note To Editor only visible by Contributor and editor

— Submitted April 30, 2015, by William S. Fiske of New Bern, North Carolina.

By Paul Crumlish, May 7, 2011 6. Interpretative display at the Atomic Bomb Accident crater site A wooden mock up to illustrate the size of the unarmed 7,600-lb., 10'8"-long bomb which was accidentally dropped on March 11, 1958. By David Taylor, June 4, 2009 7. Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958 Marker Approach trail to the bomb site. By David Taylor, June 4, 2009 8. Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958 Marker Location of the home damaged by the bomb blast. By Brian J. Scott, July 26, 2014 9. Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958 Marker

Credits.