The photos of the devastating aftermath of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which helped to hasten the Japanese surrender and the end of World War II, are unforgettable. The sobering reality is that the destructive power of those two bombs pales in comparison to the force of individual nuclear weapons in modern arsenals. (These are 18 of the deadliest weapons of all time.)
To determine the most powerful nuclear explosions in history, 24/7 Wall St. consulted various sources, including The Natural Resources Defense Council, atomicarchive.com, and Wikipedia. We included the 26 tests that yielded at least 4 megatons — about 50 times larger than the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima.
The number of the most powerful nuclear detonations is divided almost equally between the Soviet Union and the United States. One nuclear test by China is on the list. Most of the nuclear explosions occurred either by air drop or on a barge at sea. (It is not surprising to find these countries on the list as they are among the countries that control the world’s nuclear weapons.)
All 13 of the Soviet Union’s most powerful nuclear tests took place within the borders of Russia. The tests occurred on the two islands of Novaya Zemlya on the Russian Arctic coast. This was designated as a nuclear weapons test site in 1954, and the indigenous Nenets people had to be forcibly relocated.
The Soviets conducted 130 nuclear tests there between 1955 and 1990. These included the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear device ever detonated at 50 megatons of TNT equivalent, nearly 4,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. It was set off on Oct. 30, 1961. The Tsar Bomba blast was more than twice as devastating as the second-biggest explosion on the list.
Nearly all of the American nuclear tests, including most on the list, took place in various atolls in the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific, dubbed the Pacific Proving Grounds. Bikini Atoll was the site of seven of the largest U.S. nuclear explosions between 1946 and 1958. More than 70 years after the first nuclear weapons were detonated in the atolls, elevated levels of radiation remain there and the atolls are sparsely inhabited.
Three nuclear tests, including the massive Cannikin shot in 1971, were conducted on Amchitka Island in the Aleutian island group in southwest Alaska. Some people performing work related to the underground nuclear tests at Amchitka before Jan. 1, 1974, were exposed to ionizing radiation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Click here to see the most powerful nuclear explosions in human history
Source: China Photos / Getty Images
26. Test (21)
> Megaton yield: 4.00
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: China
> Test site: Lop Nur, China
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Source: Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images
25. Test #392
> Megaton yield: 4.00
> Deployment: Underground Shaft
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
24. Test #114
> Megaton yield: 4.00
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
23. Test #160
> Megaton yield: 4.20
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
22. Navajo
> Megaton yield: 4.50
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
21. Cannikin
> Megaton yield: 4.80
> Deployment: Underground Shaft
> Country: USA
> Test site: Amchitka, United States
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
20. Test #131
> Megaton yield: 5.00
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
19. Tewa
> Megaton yield: 5.00
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
18. Castle Union
> Megaton yield: 6.90
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
17. Bighorn
> Megaton yield: 7.70
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: USA
> Test site: Kiritimati, Kiribati
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
16. Test #183
> Megaton yield: 8.20
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
15. Housatonic
> Megaton yield: 8.30
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: USA
> Test site: Johnston Atoll, United States
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Courtesy of nuclearweaponarchive.org
14. Oak
> Megaton yield: 8.90
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
13. Poplar
> Megaton yield: 9.30
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
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Source: Bettmann / Getty Images
12. Test #168
> Megaton yield: 10.00
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
Source: John van Hasselt - Corbis / Getty Images
11. Test #158
> Megaton yield: 10.00
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
10. Ivy Mike
> Megaton yield: 10.40
> Deployment: Ground
> Country: USA
> Test site: Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
9. Castle Romeo
> Megaton yield: 11.00
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
8. Test #123
> Megaton yield: 12.50
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
7. Castle Yankee
> Megaton yield: 13.50
> Deployment: Barge
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
6. Castle Bravo
> Megaton yield: 15.00
> Deployment: Ground
> Country: USA
> Test site: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
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5. Test #173
> Megaton yield: 19.10
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
4. Test #174
> Megaton yield: 20.00
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
3. Test #147
> Megaton yield: 21.10
> Deployment: Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
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Source: Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images
2. Test #219
> Megaton yield: 24.20
> Deployment: Missile Warhead
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
1. Tsar Bomba, Test #130
> Megaton yield: 50.00
> Deployment: Parachute Air Drop
> Country: Soviet Union
> Test site: Novaya Zemlya, Russia
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