The Halifax Explosion

The explosion that shook maritime history.

With the coming of each war, the people of Halifax knew they would see both adversity and prosperity. During the First World War, Halifax’s prominent role as a naval port invited the attention of German submarines. That threat of attack was real, however, no one suspected for a moment the scale of the disaster that was coming. And it came not by the hand of the enemy.

Early in the morning of December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc was travelling into the Harbour to join up with a convoy assembling in Bedford Basin. The Mont Blanc had been heavily loaded with munitions at New York, and had 35 tons of highly flammable liquid benzol held in thin steel drums strapped to its deck for good measure. As the Mont Blanc moved into the Narrows of the Harbour, she collided with the Belgian relief steamer Imo. A fire broke out aboard the Mont Blanc. Efforts by many to douse the flames were in vain, and, at 9:05 am there came the greatest man-made explosion prior to the detonation of the first atomic bomb. Indeed, Oppenheimer would one day study its effects.

Much of Halifax was wrecked in the Explosion. 2,000 people were killed in the blast, and almost 2,000 seriously injured, with over 12,000 total injuries. 6,000 were made homeless. A huge plume carried up into the air, creating a large mushroom cloud miles into the sky. The bottom of Halifax Harbour, one of the world’s deepest, cracked. A canon from the Mont Blanc flew to the east into one of Dartmouth’s lakes and the Mont Blanc's anchor was carried 2.3 miles to the west, landing on the other side of the Northwest Arm. The blast was felt in Truro, Nova Scotia, some 60 miles to the north. This webmaster’s grandfather heard the blast from his home in Antigonish Harbour Center on Nova Scotia’s northeastern shore, over 125 miles away.

Most deaths occurred in the Richmond district of Halifax’s working class north end, which was flattened, and where many fires raged throughout the day. Many citizens, among them school children who had just finished their morning hymns, were caught gazing out the windows at the fire ship in the Harbour, only to have the blast blow the glass in on their faces without any chance of turning away. Thousands were blinded or otherwise bore the scars of the shattered glass projectiles throughout their lives. That night, the snow began to fall, making the rescue efforts and cleanup in the aftermath of the explosion all the more difficult.

In a wonderful act of humanity, Halifax’s New England neighbours immediately organized aid which was sent on trains from Boston to Halifax. Food, blankets, medical supplies and doctors all were sent. Each year, in appreciation for the timely and tremendous response from the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the people of Halifax send the finest Christmas Tree that can be found to the people of Boston.