List of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions
Encyclopedia
There have been a number of extremely large explosions, many accidental, caused by modern high explosives, older explosives such as gunpowder
, volatile petroleum
-based fuel
s such as gasoline
(petrol), and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date starting with the most recent. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by scientists and historians of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess. The weight of the explosive does not directly correlate with the energy of the explosion; in particular modern high explosives are far more energetic than gunpowder
.
:An explosion on 3 May 1887 in Nanaimo, British Columbia
, Canada, killed 150 miners.
Flood Rock explosion :On 10 October 1885 in New York City
, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detonated 300,000 lb of explosives on Flood Rock, annihilating the island, in order to clear the Hell Gate
for the benefit of East River
shipping traffic. The explosion sent a geyser of water 250 feet (76.2 m) in the air; the blast was felt as far away as Princeton, New Jersey
. The explosion has incorrectly been described as "the largest planned explosion before testing began for the atomic bomb" - the detonation at the Battle of Messines
was larger. Rubble from the detonation was used in 1890 to fill the gap between Great Mill Rock and Little Mill Rock, merging the two islands into a single island, Mill Rock
.
Mobile magazine explosion
:On 25 May 1865, in Mobile, Alabama
, in the Southern United States
, an ordnance depot
(magazine) exploded, killing some 300 people. This event occurred just after the end of the American Civil War
, during the occupation of the city by victorious Federal troops
.
Siege of Multan
:On 30 December 1848, in Multan
during the Second Anglo-Sikh War
, "A shell from a mortar struck a mosque in the city which had been turned into a magazine and stored with 400,000 lb of gunpowder [200 ST (181.4 t)]. It blew up with a tremendous explosion which shook the earth for many miles round, and darkened the air with smoke and fragments."
Siege of Almeida (1810)
:On 26 August 1810, in Almeida
, Portugal, during the Peninsular War
phase of the Napoleonic Wars
, French forces commanded by Marshall André Masséna
laid siege to the garrison, commanded by British Brigadier General
William Cox. A shell made a chance hit on the old castle, which was being used as the main powder magazine. It initially ignited some 4,000 prepared charges, which in turn ignited 150000 pounds (68,038.9 kg) of black powder and 1,000,000 musket cartridges. The ensuing explosion killed 600 defenders and wounded 300. The castle was razed to the ground and sections of the defences were damaged. Unable to reply to the French cannonade without gunpowder, Cox was forced to capitulate the following day with the survivors of the blast and 100 cannon. The French lost 58 killed and 320 wounded during the operation.
Delft Explosion :About 40 tonnes of gunpowder exploded on 12 October 1654, destroying much of the city of Delft
in the Netherlands. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands were wounded.
, or Morgan Depot Explosion :On 4 October 1918 an ammunition plant - operated by the T. A. Gillespie Company and located in the Morgan area of Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey - exploded and triggered a fire. The subsequent series of explosions continued for three days. The facility, said to be one of the largest in the world at the time, was destroyed, along with more than 300 buildings forcing reconstruction of South Amboy and Sayreville. Though an exact number cannot be determined, it is believed that over 100 people died in this accident.
Split Rock explosion
:On 2 July 1918 a munitions factory near Syracuse, New York
, exploded after a mixing motor in the main TNT building overheated. The fire rapidly spread through the wooden structure of the main factory. Approximately 1-3 tons of TNT were involved in the blast, which leveled the structure and killed 50 workers (conflicting reports mention 52 deaths).
Halifax Explosion
:On 6 December 1917 the SS Imo and SS Mont-Blanc
collided in the harbour
of Halifax
, Nova Scotia
. Mont-Blanc
carried 2,653 tonnes of various explosives, mostly picric acid
. After the collision the ship caught fire, drifted into town, and eventually exploded. More than 2,000 people were killed and much of Halifax was destroyed. An evaluation of the explosion's force puts it at 2.9 kilotons TNT equivalent
.
Battle of Messines
:On 7 June 1917, nineteen (of a planned twenty-one) huge mines, containing a total of over 455 t (1,003,103.3 lb) of ammonal
explosives, were set off beneath German lines on the Messines-Wytschaete ridge. The explosion, which killed about 10,000 Germans, was heard as far away as London
and Dublin. While determining the actual power of explosions is difficult, this was probably the largest planned explosion in history until the 1945 Trinity atomic weapon test, and the largest non-nuclear planned explosion until the 1947 British Heligoland detonation (below). The Messines mines detonation killed more people than any other non-nuclear man-made explosion in history.
Quickborn Explosion :On 10 February 1917 a chain reaction in an ammunition plant "Explosivstoffwerk Thorn" in Quickborn-Heide (northern Germany) killed at least 115 people (some sources say over 200), mostly young female workers.
Silvertown explosion
:On 19 January 1917, parts of Silvertown in East London were devastated by a massive TNT explosion at the Brunner-Mond munitions factory. 73 people died and hundreds were injured. The blast was felt across London
and Essex
and was heard over 100 mi (160.9 km) away, with the resulting fires visible for 30 mi (48.3 km).
Black Tom explosion
:On 30 July 1916, 1000 ST (907.2 t) of explosives bound for Europe, along with another 50 ST (45.4 t) on the Johnson Barge No. 17, exploded in Jersey City, New Jersey
, a major dock serving New York. There were few deaths, but about 100 injuries; also, the buildings on Ellis Island
and the Statue of Liberty
were damaged, along with much of Jersey City.
Lochnagar Mine
:On the morning of 1 July 1916, a charge of 60000 lb (27.2 t) of ammonal
explosive was blown to start the Battle of the Somme. The explosions constituted what was then the loudest human-made sound in history, and could be heard in London
. The mine created a crater 300 ft (91.4 m) across and 90 ft (27.4 m) deep, with a lip 15 ft (4.6 m) high. The crater is known as Lochnagar Crater after the trench from where the main tunnel was started.
Battle of Jutland
:On 31 May 1916, three British battlecruiser
s were destroyed by magazine explosions initiated by shells of the German High Seas Fleet
. At 16:02 HMS Indefatigable
was cut in two by detonation of the forward magazine and sank immediately with all but 3 of her crew of 1017. At 16:25 HMS Queen Mary
was cut in two by detonation of the forward magazine and sank with all but 21 of her crew of 1283. At 18:30 HMS Invincible
was cut in two by detonation of the midships magazine and sank in 90 seconds with all but 6 of her crew of 1032.
Faversham explosion :On Sunday, 2 April 1916, a huge explosion ripped through the gunpowder mill at Uplees, near Faversham
, Kent
, when 200 tons of TNT ignited. 105 people died in the explosion. The munitions factory was next to the Thames estuary
, which explains why the explosion was heard across the estuary as far away as Norwich
, Great Yarmouth
, and Southend-on-Sea
, where domestic windows were blown out and two large plate-glass shop windows shattered.
Alum Chine :The Alum Chine was a Welsh freighter (out of Cardiff
) carrying 343 tons of dynamite for use during construction of the Panama Canal
. She was anchored off Hawkins Point, near the entrance to Baltimore Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She exploded on 7 March 1913, killing over 30, injuring about 60, and destroying a tugboat and two barges. Most accounts describe two distinct explosions.
Plzeň explosion :Škoda Works
in Plzeň was the biggest ammunition plant in Austria-Hungary
. Series of explosions on Friday, 25 May 1917 killed 202 workers and wounded 689. This event inspired Karel Čapek
to write a novel Krakatit
(1922).
:On 18 March 1937, a natural gas
leak caused an explosion destroying the New London School of the city of New London, Texas
. Over 300 students and teachers died.
Oppau explosion
:On 21 September 1921 a silo filled with 4,500 tonnes of fertilizer exploded, killing around 560, largely destroying Oppau
, Germany, and causing damage more than 30 km away.
: On 7 December 1941 the battleship was lifted from the water when a Japanese bomb detonated in the forward magazine.
Japanese aircraft carrier Unryu
:On 19 December 1944 the carrier disintegrated when torpedo
es fired by detonated the forward magazine.
RAF Fauld Explosion
:On 27 November 1944 the RAF Ammunition Depot at Fauld, Staffordshire
, became the site of the largest explosion in the UK, when 3,700 tonnes of bombs stored in underground bunkers covering 17,000 square metres exploded en masse. The explosion was caused by bombs being taken out of store, primed for use, and replaced with the detonators still installed when unused. The crater was 30 metres deep and covered 5 hectares. The death toll was approximately 78, including RAF, 6 Italian POWs, civilian employees, and local people. In the similar Port Chicago disaster (below), about half the weight of bombs was high explosive. If the same is true of the Fauld Explosion, it would have been equivalent to about 2 kilotons of TNT.
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: On 10 November 1944 the ammunition ship exploded in Seeadler Harbor
at Manus Island
with an estimated 3,800 tons of ordnance material on board. Mushrooming smoke rose to 7,000 feet (2000 m), obscuring the ship and the surrounding area for a radius of approximately 500 yards (500 m). Mount Hoods former position was revealed by a trench in the ocean floor 1000 feet (300 m) long, 200 feet (60 m) wide, and 30 to 40 feet (10 to 12 m) deep. The largest remaining piece of the hull was found in the trench and measured no bigger than 16 by 10 feet (5 by 3 m). All 296 men aboard the ship were killed. The was 350 yards (320 m) away and suffered extensive damage, with 23 crew killed, and 174 injured. Several other nearby ships were also damaged or destroyed. Altogether 372 were killed and 371 injured in the blast.
Japanese battleship Fusō
: On 25 October 1944, the battleship was cut in two by magazine explosions initiated by torpedo
es fired by during the battle of Surigao Strait. No survivors were identified from the crew of 1400.
Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion
:On 2 October 1944, liquified natural gas storage tanks in Cleveland, Ohio, exploded. The explosion destroyed 1 square miles (3 km²), killed 130, and left 600 homeless.
Port Chicago disaster
:On 17 July 1944 in Port Chicago, California
the SS E. A. Bryan exploded while loading ammunition bound for the Pacific, with an estimated 4606 ST (4,178.5 t) of high explosive, incendiary bombs, depth charges, and other ammunition. Another 429 ST (389.2 t) waiting on nearby rail cars also exploded. The total explosive content is described as between 1,600 and 2,136 tons of TNT. 320 were killed instantly, another 390 wounded. Most of the killed and wounded were African American
enlisted men. Following the explosion, 258 fellow sailors refused to load ordnance; 50 of these, called the "Port Chicago 50", were convicted of mutiny even though they were willing to carry out any order that did not involve loading ordnance under unsafe conditions.
Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku
: On 19 June 1944 the carrier disintegrated when torpedo
es fired by detonated the bomb magazine.
West Loch Disaster
:On 21 May 1944 an ammunition handling accident in Pearl Harbor
destroyed six LSTs and 3 LCTs. Four more LSTs, ten tugs, and a net tender were damaged. Eleven buildings were destroyed ashore and nine more damaged. Nearly 400 military personnel were killed.
Bombay Docks Explosion
:On 14 April 1944 the SS Fort Stikine, carrying around 1400 LT (1,422.5 t) of explosives (among other goods), caught fire and exploded, killing around 800 people.
: On 24 November 1943 the escort carrier sank in 23 minutes with 644 of its crew when a torpedo
fired by Japanese submarine I-175 detonated the bomb magazine.
Italian battleship Roma
: On 9 September 1943 the battleship was cut in two when the magazine for the #2 turret was detonated by a German Fritz X
MCLOS
precision-guided munition
after Italy had signed an armistice with the Allies. There were 596 survivors from a crew of 1849.
Japanese battleship Mutsu
: While anchored near Hashirajima
on 8 June 1943, the battleship was cut in two by an unexplained detonation of the magazine for #3 turret. The bow sank quickly, but the inverted stern remained afloat for 14 hours. There were 353 survivors of the 1474 aboard during the detonation.
British escort carrier : On 15 November 1942 the escort carrier sank with all but 12 of its 550-man crew when a torpedo
fired by U-155 detonated the bomb magazine.
Convoy SC 107 :On the night of 3 November 1942, torpedo
es detonated the ammunition cargo of the 6690-ton British freighter Hatimura. Both the freighter and attacking submarine
U-132
were destroyed by the explosion.
SS Surrey :On the night of 10 June 1942, U-68 torpedo
ed the 8600-ton British freighter Surrey in the Caribbean Sea
. Five-thousand tons of dynamite in the cargo detonated after the ship sank. The shock wave lifted U-68 out of the water like a torpedo hit, and both diesel engines and the gyrocompass were disabled.
: On 25 November 1941, the battleship rolled over after being torpedoed by U-331 and disintegrated from multiple magazine detonations attributed to inappropriately stored anti-aircraft ammunition. Film of the explosion was kept secret in deference to the 861 casualties, but has been widely viewed since the war.
: On 24 May 1941 the battle cruiser sank in three minutes after the stern magazine detonated during the Battle of the Denmark Strait
. The wreck has been located in three pieces, suggesting additional detonation of a forward magazine. There were only 3 survivors from the crew of 1418.
Casablanca
:On 13 September 1939 the French cruiser Pluton
exploded and sank while offloading naval mine
s in the port of Casablanca, in French Morocco. The explosion killed 186 men, destroyed 3 nearby armed trawlers, and damaged 9 more.
:On 13 May 2000 about 177 tonnes of fireworks exploded in the Dutch town of Enschede. 23 people were killed and hundreds injured.
Ufa train disaster
:On 4 June 1989, a gas explosion destroyed two trains in the Soviet Union.
PEPCON disaster
:On 4 May 1988 about 8500000 lb (3,855.5 t) of ammonium perchlorate either burned or exploded in a fire and massive explosions near Henderson, Nevada
. Two people were killed and hundreds injured. The largest explosion was estimated to be equivalent to a 1 kiloton nuclear air burst.1
Minor Scale
and Misty Picture
:Many very large deliberate detonations have been carried out in order to simulate the effects of nuclear weapons on vehicles and military material in general. The largest publicly-known test was conducted by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency (now part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
) on 27 June 1985 at the White Sands Missile Range
in New Mexico
. This test, called Minor Scale, used 4744 short ton
s of ANFO
, with a yield of about 4 kt. Misty Picture
was another similar test a few years later, just slightly smaller (4685 ST (4,250.2 t)).
N1 Launch explosion : On 3 July 1969, an N1 rocket in the Soviet Union exploded on the launch pad, after a loose bolt was ingested into a fuel pump. The entire rocket contained about 680000 kg (680 t) of kerosene
and 1780000 kg (1,780 t) of liquid oxygen. Using a standard energy release of 43 MJ/kg of kerosene gives about 29 TJ for the energy of the explosion (about 6.93 kt TNT equivalent
). Comparing explosions of initially unmixed fuels is difficult (being part detonation and part deflagration), but this may be the largest artificial non-nuclear explosion in history, based on the energy equivalent of the ingredients.
Medeo Dam
, near Alma-Ata
, Kazakhstan
:On 21 October 1966 a mud flow protection dam was created by a series of four preliminary explosions of 1,800 tonnes total and a final explosion of 3,600 tonnes of ammonium nitrate–based explosive. On 14 April 1967 the dam was reinforced by an explosion of 3,900 tonnes of ammonium nitrate–based explosive.
CHASE 6
, off New Jersey
:On 28 July 1966, Horace Greeley was loaded with obsolete munitions and detonated at a depth of 4000 feet (1.2 km).
CHASE 5
, off Puget Sound
:On 23 May 1966, Izaac Van Zandt was loaded with 8000 ST (7,257.5 t) of obsolete munitions containing 400 ST (362.9 t) of high explosives. The cargo was detonated at a depth of 4000 feet (1.2 km).
Operation Sailor Hat
, off Kaho'olawe Island, Hawaii :A series of tests was performed in 1965, using conventional explosives to simulate the shock effects of nuclear blasts on naval vessels. Each test saw the detonation of a 500 ST (453.6 t) mass of high explosives.
CHASE 3 and 4
, off New Jersey
:On 14 July 1965, Coastal Mariner was loaded with 4040 ST (3,665 t) of obsolete munitions containing 512 ST (464.5 t) of high explosives. The cargo was detonated at a depth of 1000 feet (304.8 m) and created a 600-foot (200 m) water spout, but was not deep enough to be recorded on seismic instruments. On 16 September 1965, Santiago Iglesias was similarly detonated with 8715 ST (7,906.1 t) of obsolete munitions.
CHASE 2
, off New Jersey
:On 17 September 1964, offshore disposal of the ship Village containing 7348 ST (6,666 t) of obsolete munitions caused unexpected detonations 5 minutes after sinking. The detonations were detected on seismic instruments around the world, and encouraged intentional detonation of subsequent disposal operations to determine detectability of underwater nuclear testing.
Ripple Rock
, Canada :On 5 April 1958 an underwater mountain was leveled by the explosion of 1,375 tonnes of Nitramex 2H, an ammonium nitrate–based explosive.
Cali Explosion, Colombia :On 7 August 1956 seven trucks from the Colombian army, carrying more than 40 tons of dynamite, exploded, killing more than 1000 people and leaving a hole 25 meters (70 ft) deep and 60 meters (200 ft) in diameter.
Texas City Disaster
:On 16 April 1947, the SS Grandcamp, loaded with 8500 ST (7,711.1 t) of ammonium nitrate, exploded in port at Texas City, Texas
. 581 died, over 5,000 injured. Using standard chemical data for decomposition of ammonium nitrate gives 2.7 kilotons of energy released. The US Army rates the relative effectiveness of ammonium nitrate, compared to TNT, as 0.42. This conversion factor makes the blast the equivalent of 1.134 kilotons of TNT. This is generally considered the worst industrial accident
in United States history.
Heligoland :On 18 April 1947 British engineers attempted to destroy the entire North Sea island of Heligoland in what became known as the "British Bang". Roughly 4000 tons of surplus World War II
ammunition were placed in various locations around the island and set off. The island survived, although the extensive fortifications were destroyed. According to Willmore, the energy released was 1.3×1020 erg (1.3×1013 J), or about 3.2 kilotons of TNT equivalent. The blast is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records under largest single explosive detonation, although Minor Scale
would appear to be larger.
near Zygi, Cyprus
, caused the massive explosion of 98 cargo containers of various types of munition,causing the equivalent of 2 Kilotons
of TNT equivalent energy to be released, destroying the naval base along with Cyprus biggest power plant, "Vassilikos" power plant 500m away, and causing the death of 13 and injuries to over 60. Injuries were reported up to 5 km and damaged houses were reported as far as 10 km from the ground zero. Seismometers at the Mediterranean region recorded the exposion as a M3.0 seismic event
.
2009 Cataño oil refinery fire
:On the morning of 23 October 2009 there was a major explosion at the gasoline tanks that was seen and heard from 50 miles (80.5 km) away and left a smoke plume with tops as high as 30000 feet (9.1 km), caused a 3.0 earthquake and blew glass around the city. Extinguished on October 25.
Sea Launch failure
:On 30 January 2007, a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL
rocket exploded on takeoff. The explosion consumed the roughly 400000 kg (400 t) of kerosene and liquid oxygen on board. This rocket was launched from an uncrewed ship in the middle of the Pacific ocean, so there were no casualties; the launch platform was damaged and the NSS-8
satellite was destroyed.
2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire :On 11 December 2005 there were a series of major explosions at the 60000000 imp gal (272,765,400 l) capacity Buncefield oil depot
near Hemel Hempstead
, Hertfordshire
, England. The explosions were heard over 100 mi (160.9 km) away, as far as the Netherlands
and France
, and the resulting flames were visible for many miles around the depot. A smoke cloud covered Hemel Hempstead and other nearby towns in west Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
. There were no fatalities, but there were around 43 injuries (2 serious).
Seest fireworks disaster
:On 3 November 2004 about 800 tonnes of fireworks exploded in the Danish town of Kolding
. One firefighter was killed, but the mass evacuation of 2,000 people saved many lives. The cost of the damage has been estimated at €
100 million.
Ryongchon disaster
:A train explosion in North Korea
on 22 April 2004; according to official figures, 54 people were killed and 1,249 were injured.
2001 AZF chemical factory explosion in Toulouse
, France :On 21 September 2001 the disaster caused 29 deaths, 2,500 seriously wounded, and 8,000 light casualties. The blast registered 3.4 on the Richter scale and damaged about 30,000 buildings.
(standing for Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also nicknamed Mother Of All Bombs, tested in 2003) and the Russian Father of All Bombs (tested in 2007). The MOAB contains 18700 lb (8.5 t) of the H6 explosive, which is 1.35 times as powerful as TNT, giving the bomb an approximate yield of 0.011 kt. The FOAB is about 4 times more powerful than the MOAB. It would require about 250 MOAB blasts to equal the Halifax Explosion.
Other smaller tests include Pre Mine Throw and Mine Throw in 1970-1974, Pre Dice Throw and Pre Dice Throw II in 1975, Pre-Direct Course in 1982, SHIST in 1994, and the series Dipole Might in the 1990s and 2000s. Divine Strake
was a planned test of 700 tons at the Nevada Test Site
in 2006, but was cancelled.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
, volatile petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
-based fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
s such as gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
(petrol), and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date starting with the most recent. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by scientists and historians of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess. The weight of the explosive does not directly correlate with the energy of the explosion; in particular modern high explosives are far more energetic than gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
.
Before 1900
Nanaimo mine explosion1887 Nanaimo mine explosion
The Nanaimo mine explosion on May 3, 1887, in Nanaimo, British Columbia killed 150 miners. Only seven miners survived and the mine burned for one full day....
:An explosion on 3 May 1887 in Nanaimo, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada, killed 150 miners.
Flood Rock explosion :On 10 October 1885 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detonated 300,000 lb of explosives on Flood Rock, annihilating the island, in order to clear the Hell Gate
Hell Gate
Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City in the United States. It separates Astoria, Queens from Randall's Island/Wards Island ....
for the benefit of East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
shipping traffic. The explosion sent a geyser of water 250 feet (76.2 m) in the air; the blast was felt as far away as Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
. The explosion has incorrectly been described as "the largest planned explosion before testing began for the atomic bomb" - the detonation at the Battle of Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
was larger. Rubble from the detonation was used in 1890 to fill the gap between Great Mill Rock and Little Mill Rock, merging the two islands into a single island, Mill Rock
Mill Rock
Mill Rock is a small unpopulated island between Manhattan and Queens in New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. It lies about off Manhattan's East 96th Street, south of Randall's and Wards Island where the East River and Harlem River converge. The island forms Census Block 9000 of Census...
.
Mobile magazine explosion
Mobile magazine explosion
On May 25, 1865, in Mobile, Alabama, in the Southern United States, an ordnance depot or "magazine" exploded, killing some 300 persons. This event occurred just after the end of the American Civil War, during the occupation of the city by victorious Federal troops....
:On 25 May 1865, in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, an ordnance depot
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
(magazine) exploded, killing some 300 people. This event occurred just after the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, during the occupation of the city by victorious Federal troops
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
.
Siege of Multan
Siege of Multan
The Siege of Multan was a prolonged contest between the city and state of Multan and the British East India Company. The siege lasted between 19 April 1848, when a rebellion in the city against a ruler imposed by the East India Company precipitated the Second Anglo-Sikh War, and 22 January 1849,...
:On 30 December 1848, in Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
during the Second Anglo-Sikh War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.-Background...
, "A shell from a mortar struck a mosque in the city which had been turned into a magazine and stored with 400,000 lb of gunpowder [200 ST (181.4 t)]. It blew up with a tremendous explosion which shook the earth for many miles round, and darkened the air with smoke and fragments."
Siege of Almeida (1810)
Siege of Almeida (1810)
In the Siege of Almeida, the French corps of Marshal Michel Ney captured the border fortress from Brigadier General William Cox's Portuguese garrison. This action was fought in the summer of 1810 during the Peninsular War portion of the Napoleonic Wars...
:On 26 August 1810, in Almeida
Almeida
Almeida is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 518 km2 and a total population of 7,784 inhabitants. Located in Riba-Côa river valley, Almeida is an historic town in Beira Interior....
, Portugal, during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
phase of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, French forces commanded by Marshall André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
laid siege to the garrison, commanded by British Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
William Cox. A shell made a chance hit on the old castle, which was being used as the main powder magazine. It initially ignited some 4,000 prepared charges, which in turn ignited 150000 pounds (68,038.9 kg) of black powder and 1,000,000 musket cartridges. The ensuing explosion killed 600 defenders and wounded 300. The castle was razed to the ground and sections of the defences were damaged. Unable to reply to the French cannonade without gunpowder, Cox was forced to capitulate the following day with the survivors of the blast and 100 cannon. The French lost 58 killed and 320 wounded during the operation.
Delft Explosion :About 40 tonnes of gunpowder exploded on 12 October 1654, destroying much of the city of Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
in the Netherlands. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands were wounded.
World War I era
T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosionT. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion
The T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion, sometimes called the Morgan Depot Explosion, occurred at 7:30 p.m. on October 4, 1918 at an ammunition plant operated by the T.A. Gillespie Company and located in the Morgan area of Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey...
, or Morgan Depot Explosion :On 4 October 1918 an ammunition plant - operated by the T. A. Gillespie Company and located in the Morgan area of Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey - exploded and triggered a fire. The subsequent series of explosions continued for three days. The facility, said to be one of the largest in the world at the time, was destroyed, along with more than 300 buildings forcing reconstruction of South Amboy and Sayreville. Though an exact number cannot be determined, it is believed that over 100 people died in this accident.
Split Rock explosion
Split Rock, New York
Split Rock is a hamlet in the Town of Onondaga in Onondaga County, New York. Today more a historic place than a community, Split Rock is a site of great interest to industrial archeology. The Solvay Process Company developed quarry operations here, delivering limestone used for the Solvay process...
:On 2 July 1918 a munitions factory near Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, exploded after a mixing motor in the main TNT building overheated. The fire rapidly spread through the wooden structure of the main factory. Approximately 1-3 tons of TNT were involved in the blast, which leveled the structure and killed 50 workers (conflicting reports mention 52 deaths).
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
:On 6 December 1917 the SS Imo and SS Mont-Blanc
SS Mont-Blanc
The SS Mont-Blanc was a French freighter which exploded while carrying ammunition in Halifax Harbour on December 6, 1917 causing the Halifax Explosion which killed 2000 people. The explosion was caused by a collision with the Norwegian ship SS Imo...
collided in the harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
of Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. Mont-Blanc
SS Mont-Blanc
The SS Mont-Blanc was a French freighter which exploded while carrying ammunition in Halifax Harbour on December 6, 1917 causing the Halifax Explosion which killed 2000 people. The explosion was caused by a collision with the Norwegian ship SS Imo...
carried 2,653 tonnes of various explosives, mostly picric acid
Picric acid
Picric acid is the chemical compound formally called 2,4,6-trinitrophenol . This yellow crystalline solid is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other highly nitrated compounds such as TNT, picric acid is an explosive...
. After the collision the ship caught fire, drifted into town, and eventually exploded. More than 2,000 people were killed and much of Halifax was destroyed. An evaluation of the explosion's force puts it at 2.9 kilotons TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
.
Battle of Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
:On 7 June 1917, nineteen (of a planned twenty-one) huge mines, containing a total of over 455 t (1,003,103.3 lb) of ammonal
Ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene , and aluminium powder.The ammonium nitrate functions as an oxidizer and aluminium as a power enhancer. To some extent the aluminium makes it more sensitive to detonation...
explosives, were set off beneath German lines on the Messines-Wytschaete ridge. The explosion, which killed about 10,000 Germans, was heard as far away as London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Dublin. While determining the actual power of explosions is difficult, this was probably the largest planned explosion in history until the 1945 Trinity atomic weapon test, and the largest non-nuclear planned explosion until the 1947 British Heligoland detonation (below). The Messines mines detonation killed more people than any other non-nuclear man-made explosion in history.
Quickborn Explosion :On 10 February 1917 a chain reaction in an ammunition plant "Explosivstoffwerk Thorn" in Quickborn-Heide (northern Germany) killed at least 115 people (some sources say over 200), mostly young female workers.
Silvertown explosion
Silvertown explosion
The Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in West Ham, Essex on Friday, 19 January 1917 at 6.52 pm. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturing explosives for Britain's World War I military effort...
:On 19 January 1917, parts of Silvertown in East London were devastated by a massive TNT explosion at the Brunner-Mond munitions factory. 73 people died and hundreds were injured. The blast was felt across London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and was heard over 100 mi (160.9 km) away, with the resulting fires visible for 30 mi (48.3 km).
Black Tom explosion
Black Tom explosion
The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916 in Jersey City, New Jersey was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materiel from being used by the Allies in World War I.- Black Tom Island :...
:On 30 July 1916, 1000 ST (907.2 t) of explosives bound for Europe, along with another 50 ST (45.4 t) on the Johnson Barge No. 17, exploded in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, a major dock serving New York. There were few deaths, but about 100 injuries; also, the buildings on Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
and the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
were damaged, along with much of Jersey City.
Lochnagar Mine
Lochnagar mine
The Lochnagar mine was an explosive-packed mine created by the Royal Engineer tunnelling companies, located south of the village of La Boisselle in the Somme département of France, which was detonated at 7:28 am on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme...
:On the morning of 1 July 1916, a charge of 60000 lb (27.2 t) of ammonal
Ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene , and aluminium powder.The ammonium nitrate functions as an oxidizer and aluminium as a power enhancer. To some extent the aluminium makes it more sensitive to detonation...
explosive was blown to start the Battle of the Somme. The explosions constituted what was then the loudest human-made sound in history, and could be heard in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The mine created a crater 300 ft (91.4 m) across and 90 ft (27.4 m) deep, with a lip 15 ft (4.6 m) high. The crater is known as Lochnagar Crater after the trench from where the main tunnel was started.
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
:On 31 May 1916, three British battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s were destroyed by magazine explosions initiated by shells of the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. At 16:02 HMS Indefatigable
HMS Indefatigable (1909)
HMS Indefatigable was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy and the lead ship of her class. Her keel was laid down in 1909 and she was commissioned in 1911...
was cut in two by detonation of the forward magazine and sank immediately with all but 3 of her crew of 1017. At 16:25 HMS Queen Mary
HMS Queen Mary
HMS Queen Mary was a battlecruiser built by the British Royal Navy before World War I, the sole member of her class. She was similar to the s, though she differed in details from her half-sisters. She was the last battlecruiser completed before the war and participated in the Battle of Heligoland...
was cut in two by detonation of the forward magazine and sank with all but 21 of her crew of 1283. At 18:30 HMS Invincible
HMS Invincible (1907)
HMS Invincible was a battlecruiser of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built by any country in the world. She participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in a minor role as she was the oldest and slowest of the British battlecruisers...
was cut in two by detonation of the midships magazine and sank in 90 seconds with all but 6 of her crew of 1032.
Faversham explosion :On Sunday, 2 April 1916, a huge explosion ripped through the gunpowder mill at Uplees, near Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, when 200 tons of TNT ignited. 105 people died in the explosion. The munitions factory was next to the Thames estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
, which explains why the explosion was heard across the estuary as far away as Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, and Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
, where domestic windows were blown out and two large plate-glass shop windows shattered.
Alum Chine :The Alum Chine was a Welsh freighter (out of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
) carrying 343 tons of dynamite for use during construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. She was anchored off Hawkins Point, near the entrance to Baltimore Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She exploded on 7 March 1913, killing over 30, injuring about 60, and destroying a tugboat and two barges. Most accounts describe two distinct explosions.
Plzeň explosion :Škoda Works
Škoda Works
Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise in Austro-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was also one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Europe in the 20th century...
in Plzeň was the biggest ammunition plant in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. Series of explosions on Friday, 25 May 1917 killed 202 workers and wounded 689. This event inspired Karel Čapek
Karel Capek
Karel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
to write a novel Krakatit
Krakatit
Krakatit is a 1948 Czechoslovak science fiction mystery film directed by Otakar Vávra, starring Karel Höger as a chemist who suffers from delirium and regret after inventing a powerful explosive. The film is based on Karel Čapek's novel with the same title....
(1922).
Interwar period
New London School explosionNew London School explosion
The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion, destroying the London School of New London, Texas, a community in Rusk County previously known as "London". The disaster killed more than 295 students and teachers, making it the worst...
:On 18 March 1937, a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
leak caused an explosion destroying the New London School of the city of New London, Texas
New London, Texas
New London is a city in Rusk County, Texas, United States. The population was 987 at the 2000 census.On March 18, 1937, the London School Explosion killed in excess of three hundred people...
. Over 300 students and teachers died.
Oppau explosion
Oppau explosion
The Oppau explosion occurred on September 21, 1921 when a tower silo storing 4,500 tonnes of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded at a BASF plant in Oppau, now part of Ludwigshafen, Germany, killing 500–600 people and injuring about 2,000 more.The plant began...
:On 21 September 1921 a silo filled with 4,500 tonnes of fertilizer exploded, killing around 560, largely destroying Oppau
Oppau
Oppau may refer to* Ludwigshafen-Oppau, a suburb of Ludwigshafen, Germany** the Oppau explosion which occurred there in 1921* until 1945, Opawa, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland...
, Germany, and causing damage more than 30 km away.
World War II era
USS ArizonaUSS Arizona
Arizona has been the name of three ships of the United States Navy. was laid down in 1858 and served in the American Civil War. was a steam frigate launched in 1865 as the USS Neshaminy...
: On 7 December 1941 the battleship was lifted from the water when a Japanese bomb detonated in the forward magazine.
Japanese aircraft carrier Unryu
Japanese aircraft carrier Unryu
The Japanese aircraft carrier was a fleet aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy which served during World War II. She was commissioned on 6 August 1944 and eventually torpedoed and sunk by US submarine in the East China Sea on 19 December that same year...
:On 19 December 1944 the carrier disintegrated when torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es fired by detonated the forward magazine.
RAF Fauld Explosion
RAF Fauld Explosion
The RAF Fauld explosion was a military accident which occurred at 11:11am on Monday, 27 November 1944 at the RAF Fauld underground munitions storage depot...
:On 27 November 1944 the RAF Ammunition Depot at Fauld, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, became the site of the largest explosion in the UK, when 3,700 tonnes of bombs stored in underground bunkers covering 17,000 square metres exploded en masse. The explosion was caused by bombs being taken out of store, primed for use, and replaced with the detonators still installed when unused. The crater was 30 metres deep and covered 5 hectares. The death toll was approximately 78, including RAF, 6 Italian POWs, civilian employees, and local people. In the similar Port Chicago disaster (below), about half the weight of bombs was high explosive. If the same is true of the Fauld Explosion, it would have been equivalent to about 2 kilotons of TNT.
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...
at Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
with an estimated 3,800 tons of ordnance material on board. Mushrooming smoke rose to 7,000 feet (2000 m), obscuring the ship and the surrounding area for a radius of approximately 500 yards (500 m). Mount Hoods former position was revealed by a trench in the ocean floor 1000 feet (300 m) long, 200 feet (60 m) wide, and 30 to 40 feet (10 to 12 m) deep. The largest remaining piece of the hull was found in the trench and measured no bigger than 16 by 10 feet (5 by 3 m). All 296 men aboard the ship were killed. The was 350 yards (320 m) away and suffered extensive damage, with 23 crew killed, and 174 injured. Several other nearby ships were also damaged or destroyed. Altogether 372 were killed and 371 injured in the blast.
Japanese battleship Fusō
Japanese battleship Fuso
The Japanese battleship Fusō , was a part of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of the Fusō-class. She was laid down by the Kure Kaigun Koshō on 11 March 1912, launched on 28 March 1914 and completed on 18 November 1915...
: On 25 October 1944, the battleship was cut in two by magazine explosions initiated by torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es fired by during the battle of Surigao Strait. No survivors were identified from the crew of 1400.
Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion
Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion
Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion occurred on the afternoon of Friday, October 20, 1944. The resulting gas leak, explosion and fires killed 130 people and destroyed a one square mile area on Cleveland, Ohio's east side.-The disaster:At 2:30 p.m...
:On 2 October 1944, liquified natural gas storage tanks in Cleveland, Ohio, exploded. The explosion destroyed 1 square miles (3 km²), killed 130, and left 600 homeless.
Port Chicago disaster
Port Chicago disaster
The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and...
:On 17 July 1944 in Port Chicago, California
Port Chicago, California
Port Chicago was a town on the southern banks of Suisun Bay, in Contra Costa County, California. It was located east-northeast of Martinez, at an elevation of 13 feet...
the SS E. A. Bryan exploded while loading ammunition bound for the Pacific, with an estimated 4606 ST (4,178.5 t) of high explosive, incendiary bombs, depth charges, and other ammunition. Another 429 ST (389.2 t) waiting on nearby rail cars also exploded. The total explosive content is described as between 1,600 and 2,136 tons of TNT. 320 were killed instantly, another 390 wounded. Most of the killed and wounded were African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
enlisted men. Following the explosion, 258 fellow sailors refused to load ordnance; 50 of these, called the "Port Chicago 50", were convicted of mutiny even though they were willing to carry out any order that did not involve loading ordnance under unsafe conditions.
Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku
Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku
Shōkaku was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the lead ship of her class. Along with her sister ship , she took part in several key naval battles during the Pacific War, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands...
: On 19 June 1944 the carrier disintegrated when torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es fired by detonated the bomb magazine.
West Loch Disaster
West Loch Disaster
The West Loch Disaster was a previously secret American World War II maritime accident which led to the deaths of 163 men at the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on 21 May 1944...
:On 21 May 1944 an ammunition handling accident in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
destroyed six LSTs and 3 LCTs. Four more LSTs, ten tugs, and a net tender were damaged. Eleven buildings were destroyed ashore and nine more damaged. Nearly 400 military personnel were killed.
Bombay Docks Explosion
Bombay Explosion (1944)
The Bombay Explosion occurred on 14 April 1944, in the Victoria Dock of Bombay when the SS Fort Stikine carrying a mixed cargo of cotton bales, gold, and ammunition including around 1,400 tons of explosive caught fire and was destroyed in two giant blasts, scattering debris, sinking surrounding...
:On 14 April 1944 the SS Fort Stikine, carrying around 1400 LT (1,422.5 t) of explosives (among other goods), caught fire and exploded, killing around 800 people.
: On 24 November 1943 the escort carrier sank in 23 minutes with 644 of its crew when a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
fired by Japanese submarine I-175 detonated the bomb magazine.
Italian battleship Roma
Italian battleship Roma (1940)
Roma, named after two previous ships and the city of Rome, was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class battleship of Italy's Regia Marina...
: On 9 September 1943 the battleship was cut in two when the magazine for the #2 turret was detonated by a German Fritz X
Fritz X
Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel. Alternate names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400...
MCLOS
MCLOS
MCLOS is a first-generation method for guiding guided missiles.With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a joystick, and its path is observed through a periscope-type...
precision-guided munition
Precision-guided munition
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....
after Italy had signed an armistice with the Allies. There were 596 survivors from a crew of 1849.
Japanese battleship Mutsu
Japanese battleship Mutsu
thumb|right|300px|Mutsu shortly after commissioning in c. 1922Mutsu , named after Mutsu Province, as per Japanese ship naming conventions, was the Imperial Japanese Navy's second Nagato class battleship...
: While anchored near Hashirajima
Hashirajima
is an island in southern Hiroshima Bay of the Inland Sea, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Located 26 kilometers southeast of Iwakuni, it is part of the Kutsuna Islands within the Bōyō Islands group....
on 8 June 1943, the battleship was cut in two by an unexplained detonation of the magazine for #3 turret. The bow sank quickly, but the inverted stern remained afloat for 14 hours. There were 353 survivors of the 1474 aboard during the detonation.
British escort carrier : On 15 November 1942 the escort carrier sank with all but 12 of its 550-man crew when a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
fired by U-155 detonated the bomb magazine.
Convoy SC 107 :On the night of 3 November 1942, torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es detonated the ammunition cargo of the 6690-ton British freighter Hatimura. Both the freighter and attacking submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
U-132
German submarine U-132 (1941)
German submarine U-132 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 10 August 1940 by Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack, launched on 10 April 1941 and commissioned on 29 May that year. In four patrols, U-132 sank eight ships for a total...
were destroyed by the explosion.
SS Surrey :On the night of 10 June 1942, U-68 torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed the 8600-ton British freighter Surrey in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. Five-thousand tons of dynamite in the cargo detonated after the ship sank. The shock wave lifted U-68 out of the water like a torpedo hit, and both diesel engines and the gyrocompass were disabled.
: On 24 May 1941 the battle cruiser sank in three minutes after the stern magazine detonated during the Battle of the Denmark Strait
Battle of the Denmark Strait
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, fought on 24 May 1941...
. The wreck has been located in three pieces, suggesting additional detonation of a forward magazine. There were only 3 survivors from the crew of 1418.
Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
:On 13 September 1939 the French cruiser Pluton
French cruiser Pluton
The Pluton was a fast minelaying cruiser built for the French Navy in the late 1920s. She was also able to carry 1,000 troops on her mine deck as a fast troop transport. Shortly after completion she was modified and became a gunnery training ship, replacing the elderly armored cruiser...
exploded and sank while offloading naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s in the port of Casablanca, in French Morocco. The explosion killed 186 men, destroyed 3 nearby armed trawlers, and damaged 9 more.
Post World War II era
Enschede fireworks disasterEnschede fireworks disaster
The Enschede fireworks disaster was a catastrophic fireworks explosion occurring at the SE Fireworks depot on 13 May 2000, in the eastern Dutch city of Enschede....
:On 13 May 2000 about 177 tonnes of fireworks exploded in the Dutch town of Enschede. 23 people were killed and hundreds injured.
Ufa train disaster
Ufa train disaster
The Ufa train disaster was an explosion on the Kuybyshev Railway on June 4, 1989 at 1:15 in the Soviet Union, about 50 kilometers from the city of Ufa...
:On 4 June 1989, a gas explosion destroyed two trains in the Soviet Union.
PEPCON disaster
PEPCON disaster
The PEPCON disaster was an industrial disaster that occurred in Henderson, Nevada on May 4, 1988 at the Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada plant. The chemical fire and subsequent explosions claimed two lives, injured 372 people, and caused an estimated US$100 million of damage...
:On 4 May 1988 about 8500000 lb (3,855.5 t) of ammonium perchlorate either burned or exploded in a fire and massive explosions near Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
. Two people were killed and hundreds injured. The largest explosion was estimated to be equivalent to a 1 kiloton nuclear air burst.1
Minor Scale
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
and Misty Picture
Misty Picture
Misty Picture was a test conducted on May 14, 1987 by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.From the test report:MISTY PICTUREwas the fourth test in the MISTY CASTLE...
:Many very large deliberate detonations have been carried out in order to simulate the effects of nuclear weapons on vehicles and military material in general. The largest publicly-known test was conducted by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency (now part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction . DTRA's main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development...
) on 27 June 1985 at the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. This test, called Minor Scale, used 4744 short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s of ANFO
ANFO
ANFO is a widely used bulk industrial explosive mixture. It consists of 94 percent porous prilled ammonium nitrate , that acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel — six percent Number 2 Fuel Oil...
, with a yield of about 4 kt. Misty Picture
Misty Picture
Misty Picture was a test conducted on May 14, 1987 by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.From the test report:MISTY PICTUREwas the fourth test in the MISTY CASTLE...
was another similar test a few years later, just slightly smaller (4685 ST (4,250.2 t)).
- Another similar test (Operation BlowdownOperation BlowdownOperation Blowdown was a military operation that took place on 18 July 1963. Conducted in northern Queensland, Australia by a joint Australian-American-British team, it was designed to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon on tropical rainforest, using 50 tons of conventional explosive .A device...
) was a joint UK-Australian test on 18 July 1963 in the Iron RangeIron RangeThe Iron Range is a region that makes up the northeastern section of Minnesota in the United States. "The Range", as it is known by locals, is a region with multiple distinct bands of iron ore...
area of Queensland, Australia, to test the feasibility of nuclear weapons for clearing forests and using mangled forests to slow troop movement in South East Asia, primarily IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Malaysia in the escalation against SukarnoSukarnoSukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
and the Konfrontasi Malay Emergency and with a view to later MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
conflict and Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
simmering at the time.
N1 Launch explosion : On 3 July 1969, an N1 rocket in the Soviet Union exploded on the launch pad, after a loose bolt was ingested into a fuel pump. The entire rocket contained about 680000 kg (680 t) of kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
and 1780000 kg (1,780 t) of liquid oxygen. Using a standard energy release of 43 MJ/kg of kerosene gives about 29 TJ for the energy of the explosion (about 6.93 kt TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
). Comparing explosions of initially unmixed fuels is difficult (being part detonation and part deflagration), but this may be the largest artificial non-nuclear explosion in history, based on the energy equivalent of the ingredients.
Medeo Dam
Medeu Dam
Medeu Mudflow Control Dam is a dam across the Medeu Valley south-east of Almaty, Kazakhstan, designed to protect the city from devastating debris flows .- The mudflow threat :...
, near Alma-Ata
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
:On 21 October 1966 a mud flow protection dam was created by a series of four preliminary explosions of 1,800 tonnes total and a final explosion of 3,600 tonnes of ammonium nitrate–based explosive. On 14 April 1967 the dam was reinforced by an explosion of 3,900 tonnes of ammonium nitrate–based explosive.
CHASE 6
Operation CHASE
Operation CHASE was a United States Department of Defense program that involved the disposal of unwanted munitions at sea from May 1964 into the early 1970s....
, off New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
:On 28 July 1966, Horace Greeley was loaded with obsolete munitions and detonated at a depth of 4000 feet (1.2 km).
CHASE 5
Operation CHASE
Operation CHASE was a United States Department of Defense program that involved the disposal of unwanted munitions at sea from May 1964 into the early 1970s....
, off Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
:On 23 May 1966, Izaac Van Zandt was loaded with 8000 ST (7,257.5 t) of obsolete munitions containing 400 ST (362.9 t) of high explosives. The cargo was detonated at a depth of 4000 feet (1.2 km).
Operation Sailor Hat
Operation Sailor Hat
Operation Sailor Hat was an explosives effects test conducted by the United States Navy on the island of Kahoolawe, Hawaii in 1965. As they were not nuclear tests, they instead employed conventional explosives to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon blast...
, off Kaho'olawe Island, Hawaii :A series of tests was performed in 1965, using conventional explosives to simulate the shock effects of nuclear blasts on naval vessels. Each test saw the detonation of a 500 ST (453.6 t) mass of high explosives.
Operation CHASE
Operation CHASE was a United States Department of Defense program that involved the disposal of unwanted munitions at sea from May 1964 into the early 1970s....
, off New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
:On 14 July 1965, Coastal Mariner was loaded with 4040 ST (3,665 t) of obsolete munitions containing 512 ST (464.5 t) of high explosives. The cargo was detonated at a depth of 1000 feet (304.8 m) and created a 600-foot (200 m) water spout, but was not deep enough to be recorded on seismic instruments. On 16 September 1965, Santiago Iglesias was similarly detonated with 8715 ST (7,906.1 t) of obsolete munitions.
CHASE 2
Operation CHASE
Operation CHASE was a United States Department of Defense program that involved the disposal of unwanted munitions at sea from May 1964 into the early 1970s....
, off New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
:On 17 September 1964, offshore disposal of the ship Village containing 7348 ST (6,666 t) of obsolete munitions caused unexpected detonations 5 minutes after sinking. The detonations were detected on seismic instruments around the world, and encouraged intentional detonation of subsequent disposal operations to determine detectability of underwater nuclear testing.
Ripple Rock
Ripple Rock
Ripple Rock was an underwater, twin-peaked mountain in the Seymour Narrows of the Discovery Passage in British Columbia, Canada, a part of the marine trade route from Vancouver and coastal points north. The nearest town was Campbell River...
, Canada :On 5 April 1958 an underwater mountain was leveled by the explosion of 1,375 tonnes of Nitramex 2H, an ammonium nitrate–based explosive.
Cali Explosion, Colombia :On 7 August 1956 seven trucks from the Colombian army, carrying more than 40 tons of dynamite, exploded, killing more than 1000 people and leaving a hole 25 meters (70 ft) deep and 60 meters (200 ft) in diameter.
Texas City Disaster
Texas City Disaster
The Texas City Disaster was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. The incident took place on April 16, 1947, and began with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp which was docked in the Port of Texas City...
:On 16 April 1947, the SS Grandcamp, loaded with 8500 ST (7,711.1 t) of ammonium nitrate, exploded in port at Texas City, Texas
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. 581 died, over 5,000 injured. Using standard chemical data for decomposition of ammonium nitrate gives 2.7 kilotons of energy released. The US Army rates the relative effectiveness of ammonium nitrate, compared to TNT, as 0.42. This conversion factor makes the blast the equivalent of 1.134 kilotons of TNT. This is generally considered the worst industrial accident
Industrial disasters
This article lists notable industrial disasters, which are disasters caused by industrial companies, either by accident, negligence or incompetence. They are a form of industrial accident where great damage, injury or loss of life are caused....
in United States history.
Heligoland :On 18 April 1947 British engineers attempted to destroy the entire North Sea island of Heligoland in what became known as the "British Bang". Roughly 4000 tons of surplus World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ammunition were placed in various locations around the island and set off. The island survived, although the extensive fortifications were destroyed. According to Willmore, the energy released was 1.3×1020 erg (1.3×1013 J), or about 3.2 kilotons of TNT equivalent. The blast is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records under largest single explosive detonation, although Minor Scale
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
would appear to be larger.
2001–present
"Evangelos Florakis" Navy Base explosion :At around 5:45 am local time of 11 July 2011, a fire at a munitions dump at Evangelos Florakis Naval BaseEvangelos Florakis Naval Base
The Evangelos Florakis Naval Base is a Cyprus Navy base, situated on the island's southern coast adjacent to the Vasilikos industrial area and power plant, near Zygi, between Limassol and Larnaca. Prior to 11 July 2011, it was the main location of the Command of the Navy Base, one of the five...
near Zygi, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, caused the massive explosion of 98 cargo containers of various types of munition,causing the equivalent of 2 Kilotons
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
of TNT equivalent energy to be released, destroying the naval base along with Cyprus biggest power plant, "Vassilikos" power plant 500m away, and causing the death of 13 and injuries to over 60. Injuries were reported up to 5 km and damaged houses were reported as far as 10 km from the ground zero. Seismometers at the Mediterranean region recorded the exposion as a M3.0 seismic event
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
.
2009 Cataño oil refinery fire
2009 Cataño oil refinery fire
The 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire was a fire that began with a explosion at 12:23am on October 23, 2009, and was extinguished on October 25 at the Caribbean Petroleum Corporation oil refinery and oil depot in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
:On the morning of 23 October 2009 there was a major explosion at the gasoline tanks that was seen and heard from 50 miles (80.5 km) away and left a smoke plume with tops as high as 30000 feet (9.1 km), caused a 3.0 earthquake and blew glass around the city. Extinguished on October 25.
Sea Launch failure
Sea Launch
Sea Launch is a spacecraft launch service that uses a mobile sea platform for equatorial launches of commercial payloads on specialized Zenit 3SL rockets...
:On 30 January 2007, a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL
Zenit-3SL
The Zenit-3SL is an expendable carrier rocket operated by Sea Launch. First flown in 1999, it has been launched 30 times, with two failures and one partial failure. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, and is built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. RKK Energia produces the Block DM-SL upper...
rocket exploded on takeoff. The explosion consumed the roughly 400000 kg (400 t) of kerosene and liquid oxygen on board. This rocket was launched from an uncrewed ship in the middle of the Pacific ocean, so there were no casualties; the launch platform was damaged and the NSS-8
NSS-8
NSS-8 was a Dutch telecommunications satellite that was destroyed during launch. It was a Boeing 702 spacecraft with 56 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders, and it was part of the SES NEW SKIES....
satellite was destroyed.
2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire :On 11 December 2005 there were a series of major explosions at the 60000000 imp gal (272,765,400 l) capacity Buncefield oil depot
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal is operated by Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd and commonly known as the Buncefield oil depot. It is an oil depot located on the edge of Hemel Hempstead to the north of London in the United Kingdom...
near Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. The explosions were heard over 100 mi (160.9 km) away, as far as the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the resulting flames were visible for many miles around the depot. A smoke cloud covered Hemel Hempstead and other nearby towns in west Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. There were no fatalities, but there were around 43 injuries (2 serious).
Seest fireworks disaster
Seest fireworks disaster
The fireworks accident in Seest happened on 3 November 2004, when the N. P. Johnsens Fyrværkerifabrik fireworks factory exploded in Seest, a suburb of Kolding, Denmark. One firefighter died; seven from the rescue team as well as 17 locals were injured. In addition 34 rescuers, 8 police officers and...
:On 3 November 2004 about 800 tonnes of fireworks exploded in the Danish town of Kolding
Kolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
. One firefighter was killed, but the mass evacuation of 2,000 people saved many lives. The cost of the damage has been estimated at €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
100 million.
Ryongchon disaster
Ryongchon disaster
The Ryongchŏn disaster was a train disaster that occurred in the town of Ryongchŏn, North Korea, near the border with the People's Republic of China on April 22, 2004....
:A train explosion in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
on 22 April 2004; according to official figures, 54 people were killed and 1,249 were injured.
2001 AZF chemical factory explosion in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, France :On 21 September 2001 the disaster caused 29 deaths, 2,500 seriously wounded, and 8,000 light casualties. The blast registered 3.4 on the Richter scale and damaged about 30,000 buildings.
Comparison with large conventional military ordnance
The most powerful non-nuclear weapons ever designed are the United States' MOABMoab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
(standing for Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also nicknamed Mother Of All Bombs, tested in 2003) and the Russian Father of All Bombs (tested in 2007). The MOAB contains 18700 lb (8.5 t) of the H6 explosive, which is 1.35 times as powerful as TNT, giving the bomb an approximate yield of 0.011 kt. The FOAB is about 4 times more powerful than the MOAB. It would require about 250 MOAB blasts to equal the Halifax Explosion.
Conventional explosions for nuclear testing
A number of large conventional explosions have been conducted for nuclear testing purposes. Some of the larger ones are listed below.| Event | Explosive used | Amount of explosive | Where | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity test Trinity test Trinity was the code name of the first test of a nuclear weapon. This test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground, which incorporated the Alamogordo Bombing... |
TNT | 108 tons | White Sands Proving Grounds White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
7 May 1945 |
| Snowball | TNT | 500 ST (453.6 t) | Alberta, Canada | 1964 |
| Operation Sailor Hat Operation Sailor Hat Operation Sailor Hat was an explosives effects test conducted by the United States Navy on the island of Kahoolawe, Hawaii in 1965. As they were not nuclear tests, they instead employed conventional explosives to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon blast... |
TNT | 3 tests × 500 ST (453.6 t) | Kahoolawe, HI | 1965 |
| Distant Plain | propane | 20 ST (18.1 t) | Alberta, Canada | 1966-67 |
| Prairie Flat | TNT | 500 ST (453.6 t) | Alberta, Canada | 1968 |
| Dial Pack | TNT | 500 ST (453.6 t) | Alberta, Canada | 23 July 1970 |
| Mixed Company | TNT | 500 ST (453.6 t) | Colorado | 20 November 1972 |
| Misers Bluff | ANFO | 7 tests × 120 ST (108.9 t) | Planet Ranch, AZ | 1978 |
| Dice Throw | ANFO | 620 ST (562.5 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
6 October 1979 |
| Distant Runner | ANFO | 2 tests × 120 ST (108.9 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
1981 |
| Mill Race | ANFO | 620 ST (562.5 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
16 September 1981 |
| Direct Course | ANFO | 609 ST (552.5 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
26 October 1983 |
| Minor Scale Minor scale A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether... |
ANFO | 4744 ST (4,303.7 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
27 June 1985 |
| Misty Picture Misty Picture Misty Picture was a test conducted on May 14, 1987 by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.From the test report:MISTY PICTUREwas the fourth test in the MISTY CASTLE... |
ANFO | 4685 ST (4,250.2 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
14 May 1987 |
| Misers Gold | ANFO | 2445 ST (2,218.1 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
1 June 1989 |
| Distant Image | ANFO | 2440 ST (2,213.5 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
20 June 1991 |
| Minor Uncle | ANFO | 2725 ST (2,472.1 t) | White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range... |
10 June 1993 |
| Non Proliferation Experiment | ANFO | 1410 ST (1,279.1 t) | Nevada Test Site Nevada Test Site The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas... |
22 September 1993 |
Other smaller tests include Pre Mine Throw and Mine Throw in 1970-1974, Pre Dice Throw and Pre Dice Throw II in 1975, Pre-Direct Course in 1982, SHIST in 1994, and the series Dipole Might in the 1990s and 2000s. Divine Strake
Divine Strake
Divine Strake was the official designation for a large-yield, non-nuclear, high-explosive test that was planned for the Nevada Test Site. Following its announcement, the test generated great controversy, centering on two issues: its potential value in developing a nuclear "bunker buster" warhead,...
was a planned test of 700 tons at the Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
in 2006, but was cancelled.
Rank order of largest conventional explosions/detonations by magnitude
These yields are approximated by the amount of the explosive material and its properties. They are rough estimates and are not authoritative.| Event | Approximate yield |
|---|---|
| N1 launch explosion | 6-7 kt of TNT (29 TJ) |
| Minor Scale Minor scale A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether... and Misty Picture Misty Picture Misty Picture was a test conducted on May 14, 1987 by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.From the test report:MISTY PICTUREwas the fourth test in the MISTY CASTLE... |
4 kt of TNT (17 TJ) |
| Heligoland Heligoland Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea... |
3.2 kt of TNT (13 TJ) |
| Siberian pipeline sabotage Siberian pipeline sabotage The Siberian pipeline sabotage refers to the alleged 1982 sabotage of the Soviet Urengoy–Surgut–Chelyabinsk natural gas pipeline by the CIA as a part of a policy to counter Soviet theft of American technology.- Background :... |
3.0 kt of TNT (12 TJ) |
| Halifax Explosion Halifax Explosion The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"... |
2.9 kt of TNT (12 TJ) |
| Texas City Disaster Texas City Disaster The Texas City Disaster was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. The incident took place on April 16, 1947, and began with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp which was docked in the Port of Texas City... |
2.7-3.2 kt of TNT (11–13 TJ) |
| Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion The Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion was the worst peacetime military accident ever recorded in Cyprus. The incident occurred on 11 July 2011, when 98 containers of explosives that were being stored for 2½ years in the sun on the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base near Zygi self-detonated.The... |
2-3.2 kt of TNT (9–13 TJ) |
| Port Chicago disaster Port Chicago disaster The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and... |
1.6-2.2 kt of TNT (7–9 TJ) |