Historical question. Back in World War I the Allies (I believe)

[rzemanfl]

tunneled under the German trench line and set off a huge stock of explosives. My question is was the amount of explosives more or less that the 593 tons of TNT equivalent that will be generated by the 700 ton bomb they are going to set off in Nevada as a saber-rattling gesture towards Iran?

Anyone know? I am going to search the net.

[The Magistrate]

1. At Messines Ridge, Sir, In 1917

The total charge was roughly four hundred tons, divided among two dozen seperate shafts, no single charge amounting to more than fifty tons, and some running as small as fifteen tons. I do not know if high or low explosives were used, and suspect the latter, because they are safer to move and store. If that was the case, the power of the explosions combined would have been only a small fraction of this projected blast.

[rzemanfl]

3. Four hundred tons is 800,000 pounds. This thing is supposed

to be the equivalent of 593 tons of TNT (700 tons of fertilizer and fuel oil) so it is definitely bigger.

[rzemanfl]

2. Answering my own question, the WW1 thing was about a

million pounds in 19 tunnels. So this would be bigger.

http://rs6.loc.gov/learn/collections/rotog/history2.html