155 mm M107 artillery shell vs GBU-43/B MOAB (US)
A 155 mm M107 artillery shell holds about 6.6 kg of TNT; the GBU-43/B MOAB, the largest US conventional bomb, about 11 tonnes TNT equivalent per the USAF. One MOAB roughly equals 1,700 M107 shells. It helps to see the difference between artillery fire, repeated thousands of times, and a single exceptional bomb like the one used in Afghanistan in 2017.
155 mm M107 artillery shell · 6.6 kg — GBU-43/B MOAB (US) · 11 t
GBU-43/B MOAB (US) releases 1,667 times more energy than 155 mm M107 artillery shell
GBU-43/B MOAB (US) equals 0.000733 times Hiroshima
155 mm M107 artillery shell (blue)
GBU-43/B MOAB (US) (red)
Blast radius scales with the cube root of energy: the larger circle is about 12 times wider. Relative scale only — no real distances or damage estimates.
Full scale (logarithmic)
Each step multiplies the energy; on a linear scale a grenade would vanish next to the Tsar Bomba. Tap a row to set it as B.
* Estimated, approximate or disputed figure. Yields of weapons in service are not official unless stated.
Figures used and how reliable they are
- 155 mm M107 artillery shell: 6.6 kg. About 6.6 kg of TNT per US Army technical manuals.
- GBU-43/B MOAB (US): 11 t. About 11 t TNT equivalent per the USAF.
Related comparisons
Compare any other pair in the explosive yield comparison, with its full method. More context: Military history · Weapons · All tools
Sources / References
- U.S. Department of Energy, Manhattan Project history (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).
- U.S. Air Force GBU-43/B MOAB fact sheet.
- U.S. Army ammunition technical manuals (M67, M107).
- Atomic Archive and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (nuclear tests).