The Texas City Disaster of 1947 was a major and very deadly incident. It happened on Wednesday, April 16, 1947, and was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions to hit the United States. The incident began as a late morning fire on the French vessel SS "Grandcamp" which had been docked next to Texas City and nearby Galveston. But then, its almost twenty three hundred ton cargo of ammonium nitrate detonated, creating several massive explosions that caused serious damage. The incident killed 581 people.