Action movies like to portray vicious criminals who are ready to do anything to steal nuclear weapons. In reality, it would be much easier for such guys to find it: you simply won't believe how many nuclear weapons have been lost in history.
USAF disasters
The US Air Force lost the most nuclear bombs. During exercises during the Cold War, real warheads were raised several times into the sky. In 1950, three bombers with nuclear weapons crashed on the territory of Minnesota, only two were found. Where the third disappeared (together with the bomb) is still not clear.
Sir, we lost her
Another bomb was simply lost during the flight of the B-47 squadron to England. The technician decided to inspect the mountings of the 30-kiloton Mark 6, accidentally hooked the emergency release lever and the bomb flew down. An explosion in South Carolina left a crater 9 meters deep - local residents were told that it was just an exercise.
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Almost war
One of the most serious incidents of this kind occurred in 1961. A bomber with two hydrogen bombs on board suddenly collapsed right in the air. One bomb successfully landed in the swamp. At the second, the parachute opened and when it fell, three of the four fuses went off. Had the fourth one turned off, a conventional low-voltage switch, and the east coast of the United States would have been decorated with a 4 megaton mushroom mushroom.
Bulk
The most ridiculous thing was the loss of nuclear weapons in the Navy. In 1965, an attack aircraft with a hydrogen bomb accidentally fell from the deck of the Ticonderoga aircraft carrier. He instantly went to a five-kilometer depth where, apparently, he still lies.
Secrets of the USSR
It is likely that aircraft bombs were also lost in the Soviet Union. But the secrecy regime was by no means stricter than in America - the vast majority of such cases are still classified as “secret”. But something is known about the losses of submarines.
Submarines
In 1968, the K-129 sank, carrying on board as many as three ballistic missiles and two nuclear torpedoes. A few years later, another submarine carrying 6 nuclear torpedoes sank in the Bay of Biscay. All of them remained at the bottom.