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|IN AIRBORNE ALERT! By United Press International The United States has suspend ed all -nuclear-armed airborne alert flights by B-52’s following ! land, of one of the bombers I carrying four hydrogen bombs. Informed sources said today that Secretary of Defense Rob nuclear weapons taken off the flights a day or two after the crash on the ice of North Star Bay on Jan. 22. The Strategic Air Command continues to conduct airborne alert training flights with the eight-jet bombers, but nuclear weapons are no longer carried on these missions. Officially the Defense De partment declined to comment on the suspehsion of nuclear armed flights by the bombers. “We will not comment on the status of our alert forces,” a But authoriative sources said today Mr.McNamara had or dered the weapons suspension ; almost immediately after the i tered pieces of the four- onemegaton bombs were lost for almost 10 days over the ice. The Danes, who own Green land and prohibit nuclear wea1 pons on or over their territory, protested the accidental loss of the bombs, which came just; one day before Danish national . a refueling tanker collided over One of them fell into the sea: and was finally dredged up Before the Thule crash, be cause of a fire aboard a B-52, the Strategic Air Commands had kept a small number of the bombers, armed with nu clear bombs, constantly airborn on rotation. Informed sources placed the number kept aloft under the airborne alert system Ready for Targets Until the Thule crash, the few B-52’s constantly in the air were part of the strategic force, and in the even: of war, they would have headed for I The airborne alert was first j announced by the United States i s in January, 1931, at the start! 1 of the Kennedy Administration.; j At that time, bombers rather! stay of tiie United States de- | terrent and the failure of the! maintain such an alert, was one of the criticisms the Democrats Reports of how many planes were kept aloft under the alert varied. Some estimates; said 32, some 18 and some On May 6, I9SS, secret testi fore the House Appropriations Committee was made public,! had recently curtailed the air-i borne alert to the extent neces sary only for "training.” Since then the flights hnds been officially caked the “Air-! borne Alert Indoctrinatum ?ro-| pose .of familiariviirig flight) t! Si Air Co turn 3. Silint a iarpe nur.TDCT of res the Cuban missile crisis of. officin li hav e contended t.hatl