Fauld Crater

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.

Between 3,500 and 4,000 tonnes of ordnance exploded, mostly high explosives. The explosion crater has a depth of 100 feet and a maximum width of 1007 feet although different sources have exaggerated this size. The crater is still visible just south of Fauld, to the east of Hanbury, Staffordshire. It is now known as the Hanbury Crater.