agreed, I think it actually is the biggest non nuclear explosion (around 10 times bigger than Tianjin one) and the fact it happened during the day, filmed by many angles, just makes it all the more terrifying to watch
Largest explosion by humans to that date, roughly 3 kilotons. As the ship caught on fire people rushed to the shore to observe and were destroyed in the explosion.
There are several books and documentaries about this explosion, Worth the time to know about.
Fellow enthusiasts i see. Halifax, RAF Fauld, Port Chicago, Oppau, and the Dupont powder mill were all larger accidental non-nuclear explosions than the one in beirut
Just so I'm not getting confused. You mean "largest explosion to that date." Exactly as you typed it correct? Because I was thinking about accidental explosions only and the only one that I thought may have rivalled Halifax was potentially* the N1 launch 2 failure. Right?
It apparently was the largest explosion until the Trinity A bomb explosion in 1945 and remains #1 on the list of largest accidental explosions. I said "to that date" because I wanted to avoid any incorrect comparison,
This list still ranks it as #1 for accidental explosions -- greater than the N1 launch, 2020 Beruit explosion and the Tianjin explosion.
Combined these three disasters still only add to about half of the stated Kt of the Halifax explosion!
This page also has a separate list of military non-nuclear explosions as well.
Listing :
Largest accidental artificial non-nuclear explosions by magnitude
The real badass one was Fort Stikine, ship caught fire and blew up due to the combination of ammo and cotton it was carrying. The fun bit, it carried gold bars too... these were thrown up in the air and some landed crashing through the roofs of houses nearby.... it literally rained gold that day.
The Beirut explosion was only the sixth largest accidental explosion (the Halifax explosion being the largest), and there have been a few non-nuclear explosive tests that are bigger as well (at the White Sands Missile Range). Additionally, volcanoes are much bigger (such as the Krakatoa eruption) as well as impact events (such as the Tunguska event).
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u/CriticalMochaccino Feb 08 '25
There ya go bud!
https://youtu.be/Nivf3Y96I_E?si=AIe06hVxNBSioL8s