Memorial stone for the victims of the accident on January 11, 1985 (Sept. 2005)
The accident occurred on Friday, January 11, 1985, a particularly cold and dry winter day when around two dozen soldiers mounted a Pershing II rocket in a tent in a routine exercise. The individual sections (1st stage, 2nd stage, control section, warhead and radar section) were located in transport containers and were to be assembled on the mobile launcher by means of the dedicated crane of the tractor. When the first stage was lifted out of its transport container shortly before 2 pm and came into contact with metal carriers of the container, it burned down explosively and burst laterally.
The flying debris and the fire claimed several dead and injured. Two soldiers died at the accident site, another on the way to the hospital. In addition, there were six serious and seven slightly injured. Due to the low temperatures, the soldiers were dressed warmly, which prevented large-scale burns and led to the victims suffered especially facial burns. Parts of the fuel and the rocket were hurled up to 125 yards, damaging an out-of-town civilian vehicle. The QRA position with launchable nuclear missiles was at a distance of about 250 meters. The approximately 3000 ° C hot fire completely destroyed the assembly tent, the tractor and two other vehicles. The second rocket stage suffered heat damage, but did not go up in flames.
Over the forest heather a far visible black cloud of smoke formed. Since the US Army neither ensured sufficient emergency medical care, nor could adequately combat the fire, civilian task forces of the German Red Cross, the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund and the Heilbronn Fire Brigade had to provide assistance in the context of a large-scale operation, although they had no official knowledge had the Pershing missiles. Accordingly, no civil protection plan was available for such an event.