Aaron “Minerscale” Cottle

Minor Scale was a test conducted on June 27, 1985, by the United States Defence Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of
several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb. The purpose of the test was to
evaluate the effect of nuclear blasts on various pieces of military hardware, particularly new, blast-hardened launchers for the
Midget man ballistic missile.
The test took place at the Permanent High Explosive Testing Grounds of the White Sands Missile Range in the state of New
Mexico. 4744 tons of INFO explosive, equivalent to 4 kilotons of TNT, were used to roughly simulate the effect of an eight kiloton
air-burst nuclear device. With a total energy release of about, Minor Scale was reported as "the largest planned conventional
explosion in the history of the free world", surpassing another large conventional explosion, the 'British Bang' disposal of ordnance
on Highlander in 1947, reported to have released of energy.