Just FYI, via Wiki…
These yields are approximated by the amount of the explosive material and its properties. They are rough estimates and are not authoritative.
| Event | Location | Date | Primary explosive material | Approximate yield (TNT) | Mean yield (TNT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax Explosion | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | 6 December 1917 | High Explosives | 2.9 kt of TNT (<12 TJ) | 2.9 kt of TNT (<12 TJ) |
| RAF Fauld Explosion | Staffordshire, UK | 27 November 1944 | Military Munitions | 2 kt of TNT (8 TJ) | 2 kt of TNT (8 TJ) |
| Port Chicago disaster | Port Chicago, California, US | 17 July 1944 | Military Munitions | 1.6–2.2 kt of TNT (7–9 TJ) | 1.9 kt of TNT (8 TJ) |
| Oppau explosion | Oppau, Ludwigshafen, Germany | 21 September 1921 | Ammonium Sulfate andAmmonium Nitrate | 1–2 kt of TNT (4–8 TJ) | 1.5 kt of TNT (6 TJ) |
| Port Beirut disaster | Beirut, Lebanon | 4 August 2020 | Ammonium Nitrate | 1–1.5 kt of TNT – Upper Limit (4–6 TJ)[103] | 1.25 kt of TNT (5 TJ) |
| DuPont Powder Mill Explosion | Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, US | 9 March 1911 | Dynamite andBlack Blasting Powder | 1.1 kt of TNT (4.4 TJ) | 1.1 kt of TNT (4.4 TJ) |
| PEPCON Disaster | Henderson, Nevada, US | 4 May 1988 | Ammonium Perchlorate | 0.8–1 kt of TNT (~4 TJ) | 0.9 kt of TNT (~4 TJ) |
| Texas City disaster | Texas City, Texas, US | 16 April 1947 | Ammonium Nitrate | 0.73–0.86 kt of TNT (3–3.6 TJ) | 0.79 kt of TNT (~3.3 TJ) |
| N1 launch explosion | Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110, Kazakh SSR, USSR | 3 July 1969 | Rocket Fuel (RP-1) | 0.3–1 kt of TNT (1.5–4 TJ) | 0.65 kt of TNT (2.5 TJ) |
| Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion | Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, Cyprus | 11 July 2011 | Military Munitions | 0.48 kt of TNT (2.01 TJ) | 0.48 kt of TNT (2.01 TJ) |
| Port Tianjin disaster | Port of Tianjin, China | 12 August 2015 | Ammonium Nitrate | 0.28-0.33 kt of TNT (1.3-1.4 TJ) | 0.3 kt of TNT (1.35 TJ) |
The largest of these, the Halifax explosion, was caused when a French cargo vessel carrying high explosives crashed with a Norwegian vessel near Halifax, Nova Scotia. But perhaps the *dumbest* of these was the Oppau explosion which… well, here’s part of the Wiki description:
The plant began producing ammonium sulfate in 1911, but during World War I when Germany was unable to obtain the necessary sulfur, it began to produce ammonium nitrate as well. Ammonia could be produced without overseas resources, using the Haber process.
Compared to ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate is strongly hygroscopic, so the mixture of ammonium sulfate and nitrate compacted under its own weight, turning it into a plaster-like substance in the 20 m-high silo. The workers needed to use pickaxes to get it out, a problematic situation because they could not enter the silo and risk being buried in collapsing fertilizer. To ease their work, small charges of dynamite were used to loosen the mixture.
WT actual F.
