(gonna leave this here, not above the Circle, but best writing i have seen on it. Didn't kno Halifax was 2nd largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney either...)
Havoc in Halifax
A fiery collision in the Canadian harbor turned out to be one of the most catastrophic man-made explosions in history.
It was just after 0845 on Thursday, 6 December 1917, when a ship was seen burning in the Narrows, a narrowing portion of the entrance to Nova Scotia’s Halifax Harbor. Crowds began to assemble on the banks of the harbor, including hundreds who mounted a new bridge across the rail yards with a perfect view of the burning ship. It was an entertaining sight—sudden bursts of flame would penetrate the huge black smoke column, almost like a fireworks display.
More and more gawkers arranged themselves on the bridge and on the harbor banks of Halifax and the neighboring city of Dartmouth across the harbor.
And none of them—schoolchildren, housewives, factory workers, soldiers, or seamen—knew they were only a few short minutes from the event that would alter or end their lives. As they watched the drifting ship, few were aware they soon would witness a catastrophe that would be the greatest man-made explosion in world history—a record that would be broken only by the atomic blast in Hiroshima 28 years later.
(...)
The ship was owned by Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT), but it was her cargo that frightened the master and his crew: six million pounds of explosives of various makes, including 62 tons of gun cotton, 250 tons of TNT, and 2,366 tons of picric acid. These were destined for the Allies’ Western Front. Because this cargo was volatile, all precautions were taken on board to prevent sparks or sudden jars, but there was a last-minute addition of barrels of benzol—a highly flammable liquid capable of setting off the explosives stored below should it ignite. The barrels of benzol stored on deck would make a perfect fuse should they ever catch fire. On the night of 5 December, the Mont-Blanc impatiently waited to enter Halifax Harbor in the early morning hours after a nervous coastal trip from New York with her touchy cargo.
The second ship, the Imo, was larger but empty, having come from Belgium to pick up humanitarian goods for that war-torn nation. She was chartered by the Belgium Relief Commission and was bound for New York to pick up the supplies.
(snip)
at 0846 the two ships collided.
By this time both ships had reversed engines, and their speeds were minimal. Still, the Imo cut deeply into several holds of the Mont-Blanc. Both ships stopped, and the Imo began to pull out of the Mont-Blanc’s gash. In so doing, sparks flew as metal ground on metal, and the flammable benzol ignited. The fuse was now lit.
As the fire on board the Mont-Blanc grew, the crew of the ship knew the danger should the flames reach the TNT and gunpowder below and decided to abandon ship. So the entire crew, including Captain Le Medec and pilot Francis Mackey, jumped into their two lifeboats and, pulling as if their lives depended on it, rowed toward the Dartmouth shore. During their flight they shouted at nearby tugs and vessels that the ship would explode, but their shouting was in French and ignored.
The ammunition ship was now adrift with no crew and heading toward the Halifax dock area. The fire grew and reached barrels of benzol, blowing them high into the morning sky. Other ships in the area, knowing nothing of the danger, headed for the burning ship, hoping to stop the fire from spreading. The crowd kept growing, drawn to the huge plume of black smoke rising ever upward.
Railroad yard dispatcher Vincent Coleman and yard manager William Lovett were debating leaving their railroad office when a sailor broke in shouting that there was going to be an explosion. The two ran out the door, but Coleman turned back to send out a message to incoming train No. 10, warning it to stay away. Coleman’s telegraph message may have indicated his fear: “Munitions ship on fire in the Harbour. Making for Pier 6. Goodbye.”
(snip)
Following the incident, the only recognizable parts of the ship were the anchor shank, which weighed 1,000 pounds, found four miles away, and one of the deck guns, which was found three miles away. The force of the blast was so great it literally vaporized small boats and those trying to put out the Mont-Blanc fire. Barbara Orr was thrown through the air almost a third of a mile, fortunately landing on the uphill slope of Fort Needham.
The full accounting of loss from the explosion was never complete, but the official tally listed 1,953 people killed and an estimated 9,000 injured. The blast destroyed 6,000 buildings and left 25,000 homeless. However, the death toll undoubtedly was considerably higher, possibly as high as 3,000. There never was a complete list of the missing and supposed dead. The number of eye injuries was significant, with as many as 362 suffering some optic injury, with 41 totally blinded.
(final paras and a few book titles)
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2024/february/havoc-halifaxhttps://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion