Between 3,500 and 4,000 tonnes of ordnance exploded at the RAF Fauld underground munitions storage depot in the largest non-nuclear explosion in the United Kingdom.
RAF Fauld explosion
The RAF Fauld explosion was a military accident which occurred at 11:11 am on Monday, 27 November 1944 at the RAF Fauld underground munitions storage depot in Staffordshire, England. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and the largest on UK soil.
RAF Fauld
Royal Air Force Fauld is a former Royal Air Force underground munitions storage depot located 2 miles (3.2 km) south west of Tutbury, Staffordshire and 10.4 miles (16.7 km) north east of Rugeley, Staffordshire, England.
Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions
There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, volatile petroleum-based fuels such as petrol, and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by historian Jay White 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.