About 100 B-52 bombers were readied for take off along with the President's airborne command post before the error is detected. July 25 President Jimmy Carter signs Presidential Directive 59, which calls for flexible, controlled retaliation against political and military targets in the event of a prolonged nuclear war. A technician dropping a wrench and breaking a fuel tank causes an explosion in the silo of a Titan II Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile. The explosion blows off the 740 ton silo cover and sends the re-entry vehicle with its 9 megaton warhead 600 feet into the air. The accident kills one man and injures 21 others.
China conducts the last known nuclear weapon test in the atmosphere.
The last French atmospheric test was in 1974. These two countries did not adhere to the Partial Test Ban Treaty, signed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1963. The Manchester City Council passes a resolution which makes Manchester the first nuclear-free zone in the United Kingdom. 1981 January 14 President Jimmy Carter gives his Farewell Address. A World War II every second-more people killed in the first few hours than all the wars of history put together.