What Happened? Dec. 6, 1917 Halifax Explosion
Nova Scotia’s Halifax awoke December 6, 1917, to a clear blue sky.
The harbor of Halifax was a key location for merchant ships heading to Europe. Residents of the Richmond area of Halifax, Nova Scotia, had no warning on that December morning that a French cargo ship filled with deadly explosives, the SS Mont-Blanc, would collide with SS Imo, a Norwegian ship.
CBC News tells us, “The ships should have passed each other a day earlier, if at all. The Mont-Blanc had arrived just after the gates closed, and the crew slept another night on the sea.
“The Imo crew had prepared to leave that same day, but its coal arrived too late, so it dozed safely in the basin for one last night.
“As it entered the harbour narrows, the Mont-Blanc blew its whistle once, saying it would maintain its course. The Imo whistled twice, indicating it was staying in the same lane. Whistles clashed in the air, and then the ships collided.
“The clock on Halifax City Hall ticked over to 8:45 a.m. A tendril of smoke escaped the gash in the French ship.
“People watched the crew of the Mont-Blanc abandon the burning ship. Unguided, it drifted toward Halifax as the flames closed in on the raw ingredients of a bomb concealed in its belly.”*
The explosives on the Mont-Blanc ignited. It has been said of the accident, “the blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time; it released the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT.”**
*Content source/credit: CBC News, “Halifax Explosion at 100: A devastating disaster that left a lasting mark,” Jon Tattrie, December 6, 2017.
**Content source/credit: Knauer, Kelly (2012). Time: Disasters that Shook the World. Time Home Entertainment. ISBN 978-1-60320-247-3.
Photo source/credit: “Aftermath in Halifax, the start of rescue efforts… Unknown author – archive .org Aftermath in Halifax of the great explosion. Taken from ‘The people’s war book; history, cyclopaedia and chronology of the great world war’ 1919, page 335 No restrictions. File: Aftermath in Halifax of the great Halifax explosion 1917.jpg Created: 6 December 1917.”
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