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58-534: The explosion was triggered by a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp (docked at port), which detonated her cargo of about 2,300 tons (about 2,100 metric tons ) of ammonium nitrate . This started a chain reaction of fires and explosions aboard other ships and in nearby oil-storage facilities , ultimately killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of Texas City's volunteer fire department . The disaster drew

116-489: A 4-to-3 opinion, noting that the district court had no jurisdiction under the federal statute to find the government liable for "negligent planning decisions" which were properly delegated to various departments and agencies. In short, the FTCA clearly exempts "failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty", and the court found that all of the alleged acts in this case were discretionary in nature. In its dissent,

174-413: A composition somewhat below conventional flammability ratios. They happen most often in confined systems, but they sometimes occur in large vapor clouds. Other materials, such as acetylene , ozone , and hydrogen peroxide , are detonable in the absence of an oxidant (or reductant). In these cases the energy released results from the rearrangement of the molecular constituents of the material. Detonation

232-519: A large cask, or tun . A full tun, standing about a metre high, could easily weigh a tonne. See also the common German word de:Mülltonne (literal translation: garbage drum ). The spelling tonne pre-dates the introduction of the SI in 1960; it has been used with this meaning in France since 1842, when there were no metric prefixes for multiples of 10 and above, and is now used as the standard spelling for

290-605: A lesser extent to a long ton of 2,240 lb (1,016 kg), with the term tonne rarely used in speech or writing. Both terms are acceptable in Canadian English . Ton and tonne are both derived from a Germanic word in general use in the North Sea area since the Middle Ages (cf. Old English and Old Frisian tunne , Old High German and Medieval Latin tunna , German and French tonne ) to designate

348-566: A pulse detonation engine took place at the Mojave Air & Space Port on January 31, 2008. Unintentional detonation when deflagration is desired is a problem in some devices. In Otto cycle , or gasoline engines it is called engine knocking or pinging, and it causes a loss of power. It can also cause excessive heating, and harsh mechanical shock that can result in eventual engine failure. In firearms, it may cause catastrophic and potentially lethal failure . Pulse detonation engines are

406-680: A reference frame of a stationary shock, the following flow is subsonic, so that an acoustic reaction zone follows immediately behind the lead front, the Chapman–Jouguet condition . There is also some evidence that the reaction zone is semi-metallic in some explosives. Both theories describe one-dimensional and steady wavefronts. However, in the 1960s, experiments revealed that gas-phase detonations were most often characterized by unsteady, three-dimensional structures, which can only, in an averaged sense, be predicted by one-dimensional steady theories. Indeed, such waves are quenched as their structure

464-435: A theory describes the chemistry and diffusive transport processes as occurring abruptly as the shock passes. A more complex theory was advanced during World War II independently by Zel'dovich , von Neumann , and Döring . This theory, now known as ZND theory , admits finite-rate chemical reactions and thus describes a detonation as an infinitesimally thin shock wave, followed by a zone of exothermic chemical reaction. With

522-486: Is a feature for destructive purposes while deflagration is favored for the acceleration of firearms ' projectiles. However, detonation waves may also be used for less destructive purposes, including deposition of coatings to a surface or cleaning of equipment (e.g. slag removal ) and even explosively welding together metals that would otherwise fail to fuse. Pulse detonation engines use the detonation wave for aerospace propulsion. The first flight of an aircraft powered by

580-535: Is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with speeds about 1 km/sec and differ from deflagrations which have subsonic flame speeds about 1 m/sec. Detonation is an explosion of fuel-air mixture. Compared to deflagration, detonation doesn't need to have an external oxidizer. Oxidizers and fuel mix when deflagration occurs. Detonation

638-475: Is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States customary units ) and the long ton ( British imperial units ). It is equivalent to approximately 2,204.6 pounds , 1.102 short tons, and 0.984 long tons. The official SI unit is the megagram ( Mg ), a less common way to express the same amount. The BIPM symbol for

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696-436: Is destroyed. The Wood-Kirkwood detonation theory can correct some of these limitations. Experimental studies have revealed some of the conditions needed for the propagation of such fronts. In confinement, the range of composition of mixes of fuel and oxidant and self-decomposing substances with inerts are slightly below the flammability limits and, for spherically expanding fronts, well below them. The influence of increasing

754-553: Is held to a higher standard of care when carrying out "inherently dangerous" acts such as transportation and storage of explosives. According to Melvin Belli in his book Ready for the Plaintiff! (1965), Congress acted to provide some compensation after the courts refused to do so. The Dalehite decision was eventually "appealed" to Congress, where relief was granted by means of legislation (Public Law 378, 69 Stat. 707 (1955)). When

812-438: Is little need to distinguish between metric and other tons, and the unit is spelled either as ton or tonne with the relevant prefix attached. A metric ton unit (mtu) can mean 10 kg (22 lb) within metal trading, particularly within the United States. It traditionally referred to a metric ton of ore containing 1% (i.e. 10 kg) of metal. The following excerpt from a mining geology textbook describes its usage in

870-441: Is more destructive than deflagrations. In detonation, the flame front travels through the air-fuel faster than sound; while in deflagration, the flame front travels through the air-fuel slower than sound. Detonations occur in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases. TNT, dynamite, and C4 are examples of high power explosives that detonate. The velocity of detonation in solid and liquid explosives

928-428: Is much higher than that in gaseous ones, which allows the wave system to be observed with greater detail (higher resolution ). A very wide variety of fuels may occur as gases (e.g. hydrogen ), droplet fogs, or dust suspensions. In addition to dioxygen, oxidants can include halogen compounds, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, and oxides of nitrogen . Gaseous detonations are often associated with a mixture of fuel and oxidant in

986-400: Is the joule . One tonne of TNT is approximately equivalent to 4.2 gigajoules. In the petroleum industry the tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a unit of energy : the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil , approximately 42 GJ. There are several slightly different definitions. This is ten times as much as a tonne of TNT because atmospheric oxygen is used. Like

1044-481: Is the mass of one cubic metre of pure water at 4 °C (39 °F). As a non-SI unit, the use of SI metric prefixes with the tonne does not fall within the SI standard. For multiples of the tonne, it is more usual to speak of thousands or millions of tonnes. Kilotonne, megatonne, and gigatonne are more usually used for the energy of nuclear explosions and other events in equivalent mass of TNT , often loosely as approximate figures. When used in this context, there

1102-466: Is used as a proxy for energy, usually of explosions (TNT is a common high explosive ). Prefixes are used: kiloton(ne), megaton(ne), gigaton(ne), especially for expressing nuclear weapon yield , based on a specific combustion energy of TNT of about 4.2  MJ / kg (or one thermochemical calorie per milligram ). Hence, 1 t TNT = approx. 4.2  GJ , 1 kt TNT = approx. 4.2  TJ , 1 Mt TNT = approx. 4.2  PJ . The SI unit of energy

1160-413: Is usually pronounced the same as ton ( / t ʌ n / ), but the final "e" can also be pronounced, i.e. " tunnie " ( / ˈ t ʌ n i / ). In Australia, the common and recommended pronunciation is / t ɒ n / . In the United States, metric ton is the name for this unit used and recommended by NIST; an unqualified mention of a ton typically refers to a short ton of 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) and to

1218-495: The Republic Oil Refining Company firefighting team. At 9:12 a.m., the ammonium nitrate reached an explosive threshold from the combination of heat and pressure. Grandcamp detonated , causing utter destruction within 2,000 feet and extreme damage throughout the port. The tremendous blast produced a 15 ft (4.6 m) tsunami and a shockwave , levelling nearly 1,000 buildings on land. Among

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1276-453: The gram and the kilogram, the tonne gave rise to a (now obsolete) force unit of the same name, the tonne-force, equivalent to about 9.8 kilonewtons . The unit is also often called simply "tonne" or "metric ton" without identifying it as a unit of force. In contrast to the tonne as a mass unit, the tonne-force is not accepted for use with SI. Detonation Detonation (from Latin detonare  'to thunder down/forth')

1334-411: The propellers was blown off and subsequently found nearly a mile inland. It is now in a memorial park near the anchor of Grandcamp . The Texas City disaster is generally considered the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. Witnesses compared the scene to the fairly recent images of the 1943 air raid on Bari and the much larger devastation after an atomic bomb was dropped at Nagasaki . Of

1392-499: The 50th Anniversary of the explosion [...], just as the Phoenix bird symbolizes resurrection from the ashes of despair, the 'Phoenix Fountain' epitomizes courage and the triumph of the human spirit. [...] Chewelah, Washington Artist David Govedare was commissioned by Mayor Charles T. Doyle [...] [to] produce this twelve foot sculpture from half inch cor-ten steel. Architect Joseph Allen Hoover and City Engineer James McWhorter designed

1450-424: The SI symbols for the tesla , megatesla, and millitesla, respectively, while Mt and mt are SI-compatible symbols for the megatonne (one teragram) and millitonne (one kilogram). If describing TNT equivalent units of energy, one megatonne of TNT is equivalent to approximately 4.184 petajoules . In English, tonne is an established spelling alternative to metric ton . In the United States and United Kingdom, tonne

1508-496: The afternoon, two men boarded Highflyer searching for injured crewmembers. They noted that her cargo was ablaze and reported it to someone on the Harborfront. This message seems to have gone unheeded for several hours until it was realized that this indicated a serious problem. Only around 11 p.m. did tugboats attempt to pull Highflyer away from the docks. Despite having cut her anchor, they were unable to move her. They fled

1566-486: The already intense heat in the ship's hold. Around 8:30, the steam pressure became so great that it blew off the hatches. A column of yellow-orange smoke billowed out, the typical color for nitrogen dioxide fumes. The fire and its unusual-looking smoke attracted spectators along the shoreline, who believed they were at a safe distance. Responding fire departments included the Texas City volunteer fire department and

1624-539: The area around 1 a.m. the next day (April 17). Ten minutes later, at 1:10 a.m., Highflyer exploded, killing two more people. According to witnesses, the explosion was more powerful than that of Grandcamp . Casualties were light since the docks had already been evacuated, but the second explosion exacerbated the damage to nearby ships and buildings. The blast destroyed the nearby Wilson B. Keene . The steel frame of Highflyer had been heated until glowing, and these chunks rained down upon Texas City setting mass fires. One of

1682-429: The buildings destroyed was a Monsanto Chemical Company plant, killing 145 of its 450 workers. Flying shrapnel resulted in ignition of refineries and chemical tanks along the waterfront. Falling bales of burning twine from Grandcamp ' s cargo added to the damage, and her anchor was hurled across the city. Two sightseeing airplanes flying nearby were blown out of the sky, while 8 miles (13 km) away, half of

1740-437: The captain of Grandcamp ordered that no water be used, lest the cargo be ruined. Instead, he ordered all hatches sealed and the hold to be filled with steam in an attempt to smother the fire. This was unlikely to be effective, as ammonium nitrate is an oxidizer, thus neutralizing the extinguishing properties of steam. The steam may have contributed to the fire by converting the ammonium nitrate to nitrous oxide , while augmenting

1798-481: The cause, and cites numerous reasons as to why a minor fire became such a severe incident. The disaster received national media attention, with offers of assistance coming from around the country. Several funds were established to handle donations, particularly the Texas City Relief Fund, created by the city's mayor Curtis Trahan. One of the largest fundraising efforts for the city and the victims of

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1856-454: The concentration of diluent on expanding individual detonation cells has been elegantly demonstrated. Similarly, their size grows as the initial pressure falls. Since cell widths must be matched with minimum dimension of containment, any wave overdriven by the initiator will be quenched. Mathematical modeling has steadily advanced to predicting the complex flow fields behind shocks inducing reactions. To date, none has adequately described how

1914-665: The dead, 405 were identified and 63 have never been identified. The latter remains were placed in a memorial cemetery in the north part of Texas City near Moses Lake. An additional 113 people were classified as missing , for no identifiable parts were ever found. This figure includes firefighters who were aboard Grandcamp when she exploded. There is some speculation that there were hundreds more killed but uncounted, including visiting seamen, undocumented laborers and their families, and an untold number of travelers. More than 800 people were left orphaned or widowed. However, there were also some survivors among people as close as 70 feet (21 m) from

1972-538: The destruction and subsequent burning of several chemical plants (including Monsanto and Union Carbide ), oil storage, and other facilities near the explosions. Twenty-seven of the twenty-eight members of Texas City's volunteer fire department and three of four members of the Texas City Heights Volunteer Fire Department who were on the docks near the burning ship were killed. One firefighter, Fred Dowdy, who had not responded to

2030-543: The disaster was organized by Sam Maceo , one of the two brothers who ran organized crime in Galveston at the time. Maceo organized a large-scale benefit on the island, featuring entertainers including Phil Harris , Frank Sinatra , and Ann Sheridan . In the end, the Texas City Relief Fund raised more than $ 1 million ($ 14.5 million in today's terms). Payouts for fire insurance claims reached nearly $ 4 million ($ 54 million in today's terms). Within days of

2088-486: The disaster, major companies that had lost facilities in the explosions announced plans to rebuild in Texas City and in some cases to expand their operations. Some companies implemented policies of retaining all of the hourly workers who had previously worked at destroyed facilities with plans to use them in the rebuilding. Cost estimates of the industrial reconstruction were estimated at approximately $ 100 million ($ 1.36 billion adjusted for inflation). "Commemorating

2146-478: The dock. The victims' bodies quickly filled the local morgue . Several bodies were laid out in the local high school's gymnasium for identification by family or friends. More than 5,000 people were injured, with 1,784 admitted to 21 area hospitals. More than 500 homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged, leaving 2,000 homeless. The seaport was destroyed, and many businesses were flattened or burned. Over 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 freight cars were obliterated;

2204-426: The early 1940s and Yakov B. Zel'dovich and Aleksandr Solomonovich Kompaneets in the 1960s. The simplest theory to predict the behaviour of detonations in gases is known as Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) theory, developed around the turn of the 20th century. This theory, described by a relatively simple set of algebraic equations, models the detonation as a propagating shock wave accompanied by exothermic heat release. Such

2262-649: The first class action lawsuit against the United States government , on behalf of 8,485 plaintiffs, under the 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act . SS Grandcamp was a recently re-activated 437-foot-long (133 m) Liberty ship . Originally named SS Benjamin R. Curtis in Los Angeles in 1942, the ship served in the Pacific theater and was mothballed in Philadelphia after the war. In a Cold War gesture,

2320-431: The fountain built by Texas City's Public Works Department." Many of the legal cases seeking compensation were combined into Elizabeth Dalehite, et al. v. United States , under the recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). On April 13, 1950, the district court found the United States government responsible for a litany of negligent acts of omission and commission by 168 named agencies and their representatives, in

2378-587: The initial call, coordinated other firefighters arriving from communities up to 60 miles (100 km) away. Alvin Fussell, sole survivor of the Heights Volunteer firefighters, was driving to work in Alvin when he heard of the fire on the radio. Eventually 200 firefighters arrived from as far away as Los Angeles . Fires resulting from the cataclysmic events were still burning a week after the disaster, and

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2436-495: The last claim had been processed in 1957, 1,394 awards totaling nearly $ 17 million had been made. For a complete listing, see list of cities and towns in Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land MSA Tonne The tonne ( / t ʌ n / or / t ɒ n / ; symbol:  t ) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms . It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI . It

2494-515: The manufacture, packaging, and labeling of ammonium nitrate. This was further compounded by errors in transport, storage, loading, fire prevention, and fire suppression, all of which led to the explosions and the subsequent carnage. On June 10, 1952, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this decision, finding that the United States maintained the right to exercise its own "discretion" in vital national matters. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision (346 U.S. 15, June 8, 1953), in

2552-522: The metric mass measurement in most English -speaking countries. In the United States, the unit was originally referred to using the French words millier or tonneau , but these terms are now obsolete. The British imperial and United States customary units are comparable to the tonne and the spelling of ton in English is the same, though they differ in mass. One tonne is equivalent to: A tonne

2610-482: The particular case of tungsten: Tungsten concentrates are usually traded in metric tonne units (originally designating one tonne of ore containing 1% of WO 3 , today used to measure WO 3 quantities in 10 kg units. One metric tonne unit (mtu) of tungsten (VI) contains 7.93 kilograms of tungsten. In the case of uranium , MTU is sometimes used in the sense of metric ton of uranium (1,000 kg [2,200 lb]). The tonne of trinitrotoluene (TNT)

2668-450: The process of body recovery took nearly a month. All four fire engines of Texas City were twisted and burned husks. The cause of the initial fire on board Grandcamp was never determined. It may have been started by a cigarette discarded the previous day, meaning the ship's cargo had been smoldering throughout the night when the fire was discovered on the morning of the explosion. Historian Hugh Stephens later identified human error as

2726-467: The property damage was estimated at $ 100 million (equivalent to $ 1,072,000,000 in 2023). This number may not encompass the full scope of damage: a further $ 500 million of oil products burned (equivalent to $ 5,358,000,000 in 2023). A 2-short-ton (1.8-metric-ton) anchor of Grandcamp was hurled 1.62 miles (2.61 km) and found in a 10-foot (3 m) crater. It was installed at a memorial park. The other main 5-short-ton (4.5-metric-ton) anchor

2784-537: The ship was assigned by the U.S. to the French Line to assist in the rebuilding of France, along with other efforts in Europe. Along with the ammonium nitrate —a very common cargo on the high seas—she was carrying small-arms ammunition , machinery, and bales of sisal twine on the deck. Another ship in the harbor, SS High Flyer , was docked about 600 feet (200 m) away from Grandcamp . The ammonium nitrate aboard

2842-410: The shipboard fire. With fires raging throughout Texas City, first responders from other areas were initially unable to reach the site of the disaster. The first explosion had set Highflyer free from its moorings, and it had drifted across the harbor, coming to rest against SS Wilson B. Keene . Her crew stayed aboard for an hour before the smoke of the burning oil in the harbor forced them to leave. In

2900-438: The structure is formed and sustained behind unconfined waves. When used in explosive devices, the main cause of damage from a detonation is the supersonic blast front (a powerful shock wave ) in the surrounding area. This is a significant distinction from deflagrations where the exothermic wave is subsonic and maximum pressures for non-metal specks of dust are approximately 7–10 times atmospheric pressure. Therefore, detonation

2958-425: The three justices argued that, under the FTCA, " Congress has defined the tort liability of the government as analogous to that of a private person", i.e., when carrying out duties unrelated to governing. In this case, "a policy adopted in the exercise of an immune discretion was carried out carelessly by those in charge of detail", and that a private person would certainly be held liable for such acts. A private person

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3016-518: The tonne is t, adopted at the same time as the unit in 1879. Its use is also official for the metric ton in the United States, having been adopted by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It is a symbol, not an abbreviation, and should not be followed by a period . Use of lower case is significant, and use of other letter combinations can lead to ambiguity. For example, T, MT, mT, are

3074-481: The touch before loading. High Flyer held an additional 961 short tons (872 t) of ammonium nitrate and 1,800 short tons (1,600 metric tons) of sulfur . On Wednesday, April 16, 1947, around 8 a.m., smoke was spotted in the cargo hold of Grandcamp while she was still moored. Longshoremen used a gallon jug of water and two fire extinguishers , but they had no effect and the cargo hold filled with smoke. The longshoremen were then ordered to leave. At this point,

3132-457: The two ships, and fertilizer in an adjacent warehouse, were intended for export to farmers in Europe. Grandcamp had arrived from Houston , where the port authority did not permit the loading of ammonium nitrate. Grandcamp had a mixed cargo, containing chiefly ammonium nitrate , but also twine, peanuts, tobacco, some small arms ammunition, engineering equipment, and cotton. The ammonium nitrate, needed either as fertilizer or an explosive ,

3190-473: The windows in Galveston were shattered. The explosion blew the almost 6,350 short tons (5,760 t) of the ship's steel into the air, some at supersonic speed. Official casualty estimates came to a total of 567, including all the crewmen who remained aboard Grandcamp . All but one member of the 28-man Texas City volunteer fire department were killed in the initial explosion on the docks while fighting

3248-468: Was discovered in 1881 by four French scientists Marcellin Berthelot and Paul Marie Eugène Vieille and Ernest-François Mallard and Henry Louis Le Chatelier . The mathematical predictions of propagation were carried out first by David Chapman in 1899 and by Émile Jouguet in 1905, 1906 and 1917. The next advance in understanding detonation was made by John von Neumann and Werner Döring in

3306-470: Was hurled 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) to the entrance of the Texas City Dike. It rests on a "Texas-shaped" memorial at the entrance. Burning wreckage ignited everything within miles, including dozens of oil and chemical tanks. The nearby city of Galveston was covered with an oily fog that left deposits over every exposed outdoor surface. Some of the deaths and damage in Texas City were due to

3364-466: Was manufactured in Nebraska and Iowa and shipped to Texas City by rail before being loaded onto Grandcamp . It was manufactured in a patented process, mixed with clay , petrolatum , rosin and paraffin wax to avoid moisture caking. It was packaged in paper sacks, then transported and stored at higher temperatures that increased its chemical activity. Longshoremen reported the bags were warm to

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