When US actually dropped nuclear bombs on Greenland: Inside a Cold War incident

Amid renewed debate of the United States (U.S.) wanting to take over Greenland, a Cold War-era incident has resurfaced, when the U.S. actually dropped bombs on the Arctic island.

On January 21, 1968, around 60 years ago, a U.S. B-52G bomber carrying seven crew members was flying over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, to monitor the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System when a fire broke and destroyed the jet’s electrical systems.

According to Daily Mail, the fire was so intense that despite the pilot declaring an emergency and contacting Thule Air Base, the crew was unable to land the aircraft and bailed out.

The incident caused the B-52G Stratofortress to crash into the ice, resulting in the conventional explosion of four thermonuclear weapons. Fortunately, a full nuclear detonation was prevented due to the bomb's safety systems.

Eyewitness accounts reveal that the crash was so severe that it caused massive buildings to shake as if struck by an earthquake.

The incident exposed U.S. covert operations, including flights carrying nuclear weapons without Denmark’s permission.

U.S.-Denmark relations suffered a major blow, as Denmark had banned the nuclear weapons from its territories in 1957.