The Halifax Explosion
Halifax Harbour and World War I
Halifax was devastated on 6 December 1917 when two ships collided in the city's harbour, one of them a munitions ship loaded with explosives bound for the battlefields of the First World War. The result was the largest human-made explosion prior to the detonation of the first atomic bombs in 1945. The north end of Halifax was wiped out by the blast and subsequent tsunami. Nearly 2,000 people died, another 9,000 were maimed or blinded, and more than 25,000 were left without adequate shelter. [1]
Thursday, December 6, 1917, dawned bright and clear in Halifax. World War I raged in Europe, and the port city was busy with the movement of war ships carrying troops, relief …show more content…
At about the same time, the French ship SS Mont-Blanc was heading up the harbour to moor, awaiting a convoy to accompany her across the Atlantic. A convoy was essential; this small, barely seaworthy vessel was carrying a full cargo of explosives. Stored in the holds, or simply stacked on deck, were 35 tons of benzol, 300 rounds of ammunition, 10 tons of gun cotton, 2,300 tons of picric acid (used in explosives), and 400,000 pounds of TNT.
SS Imo, a much larger and faster ship than SS Mont-Blanc, passed into the Narrows. She was travelling fast, and to close to Dartmouth when SS Mont-Blanc first spotted her. SS Mont-Blanc, not flying the regulation red flag to indicate she was carrying explosives, signalled that she was in her correct channel; SS Imo, however, signalled that she was intending to bear even further to port, closer to Dartmouth and further into SS Mont-Blanc's channel. SS Mont-Blanc signalled again that she was still intending to pass to starboard; she was by this time very close to the Dartmouth shore and travelling "dead …show more content…
While Haligonians knew that there were two ships involved, the Imo and the Mont-Blanc, they were unsure who was to blame. Was the fault in the hands of Captain From of the Imo, exiting the basin through the narrows, in haste to make up lost time? Or did the fault lie with Captain LeMedec, pushing the unflagged Mont-Blanc with its large cargo of explosives into the narrows, that caused the disaster?
On December 12th, 1917, just 6 days after the fatal explosion, in the courthouse on Spring Garden Road, Mr Justice Arthur Drysdale; a native Haligonian would attempt to answer these questions. The Halifax Explosion Inquiry opened with examination of the series of events which unfolded on the morning of December 6th. Testimony from both sides, the Imo, and the Mont-Blanc were heard.
Le Medec was the first to take the stand. He reported that the Mont Blanc was entering the main harbour after having spent the previous evening outside of the anti-sub nets, which were lowered every night, making entrance into the harbour impossible for the Mont Blanc. Le Medec claimed that visibility was clear that morning. As he approached the narrows, the Imo, in an attempt to pass a tug boat pulling barges that was slowing the Imo's exit, was on a course that would cut across the bow of the Mont-Blanc. At this point, the Mont Blanc gave off one signal, “indicating that it would veer slightly more starboard, or to the right”
Halifax Harbour and World War I
Halifax was devastated on 6 December 1917 when two ships collided in the city's harbour, one of them a munitions ship loaded with explosives bound for the battlefields of the First World War. The result was the largest human-made explosion prior to the detonation of the first atomic bombs in 1945. The north end of Halifax was wiped out by the blast and subsequent tsunami. Nearly 2,000 people died, another 9,000 were maimed or blinded, and more than 25,000 were left without adequate shelter. [1]
Thursday, December 6, 1917, dawned bright and clear in Halifax. World War I raged in Europe, and the port city was busy with the movement of war ships carrying troops, relief …show more content…
At about the same time, the French ship SS Mont-Blanc was heading up the harbour to moor, awaiting a convoy to accompany her across the Atlantic. A convoy was essential; this small, barely seaworthy vessel was carrying a full cargo of explosives. Stored in the holds, or simply stacked on deck, were 35 tons of benzol, 300 rounds of ammunition, 10 tons of gun cotton, 2,300 tons of picric acid (used in explosives), and 400,000 pounds of TNT.
SS Imo, a much larger and faster ship than SS Mont-Blanc, passed into the Narrows. She was travelling fast, and to close to Dartmouth when SS Mont-Blanc first spotted her. SS Mont-Blanc, not flying the regulation red flag to indicate she was carrying explosives, signalled that she was in her correct channel; SS Imo, however, signalled that she was intending to bear even further to port, closer to Dartmouth and further into SS Mont-Blanc's channel. SS Mont-Blanc signalled again that she was still intending to pass to starboard; she was by this time very close to the Dartmouth shore and travelling "dead …show more content…
While Haligonians knew that there were two ships involved, the Imo and the Mont-Blanc, they were unsure who was to blame. Was the fault in the hands of Captain From of the Imo, exiting the basin through the narrows, in haste to make up lost time? Or did the fault lie with Captain LeMedec, pushing the unflagged Mont-Blanc with its large cargo of explosives into the narrows, that caused the disaster?
On December 12th, 1917, just 6 days after the fatal explosion, in the courthouse on Spring Garden Road, Mr Justice Arthur Drysdale; a native Haligonian would attempt to answer these questions. The Halifax Explosion Inquiry opened with examination of the series of events which unfolded on the morning of December 6th. Testimony from both sides, the Imo, and the Mont-Blanc were heard.
Le Medec was the first to take the stand. He reported that the Mont Blanc was entering the main harbour after having spent the previous evening outside of the anti-sub nets, which were lowered every night, making entrance into the harbour impossible for the Mont Blanc. Le Medec claimed that visibility was clear that morning. As he approached the narrows, the Imo, in an attempt to pass a tug boat pulling barges that was slowing the Imo's exit, was on a course that would cut across the bow of the Mont-Blanc. At this point, the Mont Blanc gave off one signal, “indicating that it would veer slightly more starboard, or to the right”