i was at starbucks today, calmly putting my sugar in to my coffee when i overheard two firefighters talking of something quite strange. it seems that somewhere in north houston made a diesel bomb out of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel and caused quite an explosion. i heard one of them say that they had heard of such a thing in class, but this was the first time they had to deal with it. supposedly, with the right ignition, and sufficient propagation, the fuel become a firestorm. i have been watching the news and scanning online but there are no reports of the explosion. weird.

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1980 300D

Should I be the first to try?

I believe that was the stuff used in the Oklahoma bombing.

Can't remember anymore though

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

about six years ago or so someone drove a pickup loaded with fertilizer and diesel fuel into the side door of our courthouse.....right across the street from my building. there was some technical problem and the thing didn't ignite. they have never found the perp.

one day an FBI man came by my office to ask me about one of the contractors who had been doing work on my building whom (presumably) was under some suspicion of some kind.

the man i question is a little bit of a nut, but afaik he wouldn't try to blow up the courthouse.

now they have big planters and such to prevent such things and airport type security to get in.

i can't wait til i have to go over now that i have the bionic hip!


tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

A few weeks ago I met a man who invented a bomb like this in WWII. He was a Dupont explosive engineer who was asked to come up with ideas to win the war. Since he knew that the explosive power of a bomb increases with the square of it's size, he suggested filling an airplane with ammonium nitrate soaked in diesel fuel and then flying it to a target. The pilots would parachute out and fly it by remote control to the final target.
Joseph Kennedy who was piloting the experimental bomb, was killed when the plane exploded prematurely.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I think its heating oil...

That was blew up Texas City in 1947. A ship with fertilizer blew up in the harbor. The first explosion wasn't huge, but everybody ran down to see what it was. The second boom just about wiped everybody out.

They use bombs like that to mine ore and such. Cheap, easy, and its made up on the spot.

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MB-less

When I was a kid, that's how I was told you could make a pond. One drum of manure or fertilizer soaked in fuel oil and a stick of dymamite.

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Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

There is no hiding it. If there was an explosion in your immediate area, you would know it. At a distance you might mistake it for an earthquake.

it was more advanced than just ammonium nitrate and diesel. actually didnt the OK bombing use some very volatile racing fuel?

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1980 300D

Volatile racing fuel in this application would not be an advance, it would be dangerous and stupid.

oh it was in the area somewhere, this was Klein Fire Dept. so they serve a large area here. and it gets country pretty quick. i searched but couldnt find anything about it. these guys actuallly smelled like they had been working on a car made out of bleach. weird. you know.....petroleum smell, and some strong cleaner. so, they had definitely dealt with a blaze just before.

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1980 300D

Google "ANFO" (Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil)...quite effective stuff. Most explosive mining uses it and some of the commercial packaging looks like this:



...and yes, that's an HE triggering device on top of those bags.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

oh i know it exists. i just find it weird that something happened out here in north/northwest houston and there was no news of it. but the lady who fell down on the only 2 sq.ft. patch of ice is suing the city and that made the news.

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1980 300D

OKC had home-made ANFO, plus a bunch of cylinders of acetylene for good measure. Not racing fuel, but certainly volatile. And for some reason that I do not understand, really speeds up the ANFO reaction.

http://www.okcbombing.org/
"The truck bomb was composed of ammonium nitrate, an agricultural fertilizer, and nitromethane, a highly volatile motor-racing fuel—a mixture also known as Kinepak and similar to ANFO."

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1980 300D