Tybee Island

On our last day in the Savannah area we decided to head to Tybee Island for lunch. We had heard what a wonderful beach it was and thought we would see for ourselves. Little did we know then the mystery surrounding this little island retreat.

It seems that Tybee Island is best known for being the home of the Tybee Bomb. The Tybee Bomb is a 7,600 pound (3,500 kg) Mark 15 hydrogen bomb that was lost in the waters off Savannah, Georgia on February 5, 1958. The bomb was jettisoned during a practice exercise after a B-47 bomber carrying it collided in midair with an F-86 fighter plane. Following several unsuccessful searches, it was presumed lost somewhere in Wassaw Sound off the shores of Tybee Island.

In 2001, the United States Air Force conducted a study to determine whether the bomb posed a threat to residents of the surrounding area. The study concluded that the bomb does not pose a significant threat because it is missing the nuclear capsule that is used to initiate the nuclear reaction. The bomber pilot maintains that the weapon did not have the nuclear capsule when he took off. The Air Force says with all certainty that the bomb does contain conventional explosives and highly enriched uranium, which could pose an environmental or proliferation threat. The Air Force determined that it was prudent to leave the bomb entombed in mud at the bottom of the sea floor rather than disturb it and risk the potential of detonation or contamination.



Interest in recovery of the bomb has resurfaced among residents of nearby Tybee Island. Recent recovery efforts have been spearheaded by retired Air Force Colonel Derek Duke. In 2004, Duke claimed to have found the possible resting spot of the bomb in just twelve feet of water less than one mile from shore. He and his partner located the spot by trawling the area in their boat with a Geiger counter in tow. The spot that Duke believes is the final resting place of the bomb reads seven to ten times as high on the geiger counter as do the surrounding areas. The Air Force completed its study of the area and the report was finally released in June 2005. The Air Force stated that high radiation measurements are from naturally occurring radioactive materials, and that the location of the bomb is still unknown.



On a positive note…The Tybee Island Light Station is one of just a handful of 18th century lighthouses still in operation in North America. Built in 1736, the lighthouse was made of brick and wood and stood 90 feet tall, making it the highest structure in America at that time. Today the Tybee Lighthouse is a popular tourist destination. All of the support buildings on the five-acre site have been historically preserved. The current black and white tower markings is a reversion to its fourth day mark, first used in 1916.