The film , set in 1972 , was inspired by an actual incident which occurred on 17 January 1966 : a B-52G Stratofortress collided with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Palomares , Spain , and four B-28 FI 1.45-megaton-range hydrogen bombs aboard the B-52 were briefly lost . In a title sequence shot by Maurice Binder , a chorus of Spanish Flamenco dancers explains why the film 's location is Greece rather than Spain
actual incident
1966 Palomares B-52 crash
The Day the Fish Came Out