Mars Bluff is an unincorporated community in Florence County, South Carolina, United States that bears the distinction of having been inadvertently bombed with a nuclear weapon by the United States Air Force.

Quick Facts Country, State ...

Mars Bluff, South Carolina
Unincorporated community
Mars Bluff Show map of South Carolina Mars Bluff Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 34°12′20″N 79°39′19″W
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Florence County
Elevation	98 ft (30 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	29506
Area code(s)	843, 854
GNIS feature ID	1246538[1]

Close

Originally known as Marr's Bluff during the American Revolution, the area west of the Great Pee Dee River eventually became known as Mars Bluff at some point before the American Civil War.^[1][2] Near the end of the American Civil War, the Mars Bluff Naval Yard was established, one of many inland Confederate naval yards.^[3]

On March 11, 1958 a U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojet with a nuclear payload left for nuclear training exercises for war preparations in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The navigator mistakenly pulled the emergency release pin which resulted in the bomb falling out of the plane. Although the bomb was not armed with the plutonium core (a removable capsule of fissionable material which was securely stored in a containment area on board the plane), it nevertheless contained a high-explosive detonator. The resulting explosion created a crater estimated to be 75 feet (23 m) wide and 25–35 feet (7.6–10.7 m) deep. It destroyed a local playhouse, near the residence of Walter Gregg, and leveled nearby trees. Nobody was killed by the blast but several people in Gregg's family were injured.^[4] The site is located near US 301, but is difficult to access due to the site being on private property.^[5]

Fragments of the bomb are on display at Florence County Museum.^[6]