Don, I was about to challenge your statement "But we did in fact have a silo nuclear missle explode and launch the nuke haphazardly several miles from the silo. It happened in a rural "red" state about 20 years ago." but you are not too far off on what happened, so I'll accept it. *G* Note that it does not appear to have been quite as eye popping as your memory would have it.


September 19, 1980, Damascus, Arkansas

"Fuel vapors from a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) exploded in the missile's silo, blowing off the 740-ton silo door of reinforced concrete and steel and catapulting the missile's nuclear warhead 600 feet. The accident occurred when an Air Force repairman dropped a heavy wrench socket that struck the missile, causing a leak in the missile's pressurized fuel tank. The fuel caught fire and exploded approximately 8 ½ hours later, killing one person and injuring twenty-one others. The missile's reentry vehicle, which contained a nuclear warhead, was recovered intact."

Accounts of Nuclear Accidents/Nuclear Incidents