Geological perspectives on the 'world’s largest' conventional explosion at Fauld Mine Staffordshire
22 September
Monday 22 September (Indoor Meeting): 'Geological perspectives on the 'world’s largest' conventional explosion at Fauld Mine Staffordshire'. Speaker: Noel Worley.
Biographical Details
Noel graduated from the University of Sheffield in 1973 with a BSc in Geology, and gained a PhD in 1978 from the University of Leicester, his topic 'Mineralization in the Peak District'. He was employed with British Gypsum, (a subsidiary of Saint Gaobain) from 1977 - 2012 holding various positions including Mine / Exploration Geologist working in the UK and Europe and retired in 2012 from the position of Minerals & Estates Manager.
He was Vice-President of the Minerals Group of the CBI and a Director of the Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology. He is a member of the Geological Society, East Midlands Geological Society, and Yorkshire Geological Society where he was President 2011-13. He also has membership of the British Cave Research Association and Quekett Microscope Club.
Talk Abstract
The disregard of Britain’s defences during the interwar years resulted in rapid expansion of investment in military infrastructure during the later years of the 1930s. The additional threat posed by aerial bombardment led to the advancement of covert storage facilities for military ordnance. During the 1930s the Air Ministry hastily acquired interests in many room and pillar mines throughout Britain with a view to adapting them for ordnance storage and other operations. Six sites were eventually shortlisted, and for one of the northern depots the former Peter Ford gypsum mine at Fauld in north Staffordshire was procured to become RAF Fauld. The storage facility was gradually developed, and by 1941 it had expanded to become the RAF's premier example and the largest in the country, known as RAF 21 MU, operated by approximately 1,000 personnel. In early 1944 a detachment of United States Air Force personnel was billeted at Fauld for the storage of 4,000 lb 'blockbuster' bombs and the total capacity of the store rose to some 35,000 tonnes of mainly High Explosive ordnance.
On the 27th November 1944 at the height of the allied bombing campaign over Germany, over 4,000 tons of HE exploded causing the death of some 70 people, most of whom were civilians. The explosion caused massive damage and left a crater covering 5 ha and 50 metres deep. At the time, this was the world’s largest explosion and arguably remains the largest ever non-nuclear explosion. Fortunately, the robust design and site geology of the facility allowed the explosion to be partially contained. After the explosion the store was rapidly repaired, remaining in operation until 1966, finally closing in 1973.
The scale of the event attracted scientific investigation, initially concerning its seismicity. During the 1960s interest was revived in the United States by N.A.S.A. as part of investigations associated with the lunar orbiter mission and the studies of the Fauld crater becoming influential in the development of thinking about the formation of lunar craters.
The geological setting of the RAF MU 21 Fauld will be illustrated, including some of the difficulties that hampered the underground operations. The site geology was little understood when the facility was developed and it has been subsequently discovered that the overburden above the underground store comprises unstable glaciogenic sediments. The pattern of damage resulting from the explosion, formation of associated impact craters, and large number of casualties can now be analysed and explained.