USCG HISTORY: On this day, December 6, 1917 - The French freighter Mont Blanc, loaded with 5,000 tons of high explosives, collided with the Norwegian steamer Imo in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The resulting fire detonated the munitions, killing 1,635 people and leveling much of Halifax and its environs. Coast Guardsmen from CGC Morrill landed to provide assistance. This disaster led to the creation of captains of the ports for the major U.S. ports. The Coast Guard was tasked with the new duty. ---------------------------------------------------------- The Mont Blanc Blast That Leveled Halifax By James Donahue The world was at war on Dec. 6, 1917, and the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was a busy seaport with both allied naval ships and vessels of the Merchant Marine both coming and going, all carrying important cargo in support of the war effort. Into this busy seaport entered the Mont Blanc, a rusting, unobtrusive-appearing 320-foot vessel flying the French flag. This single-screw, 18-year-old freighter looked relatively safe, but unknown to port authorities or the people of Halifax, the ship was a floating bomb. It was routed from New York to Halifax, to join a convoy on its way to France, with its holds filled with 2,300 tons of wet and dry Pitric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton and 35 tons of Benzol. The ship also had mounted fore and aft guns with about 300 rounds of ammunition stacked on its deck. It was noted that the Mont Blanc was not flying a customary red flag, warning other vessels that its cargo was explosive. Also in the Halifax harbor that morning was the Imo, a former Norwegian whaler that had stopped the previous day to take on coal while on its way to New York to pick up relief supplies bound for Belgium. The Imo weighed anchor and was steaming back out to sea as the Mont Blanc was entering. The two ships collided in a bottleneck known as the Narrows, the bow of the Imo slicing a wedge in the side of the smaller ammunition ship and starting a fire in the picnic acid stored directly under the drums of benzol on the deck. The French crew, well aware of the extreme danger of a fire in the midst of that volatile cargo, made no effort to fight the blaze which was immediately burning out of control. At the order of Captain Aime Le Medec, they abandoned ship in the small boats, and shouted an alarm as they rowed for Dartmouth, putting as much space between them and the disaster they knew was about to happen. Unfortunately, that French crew spoke no English and the people of Halifax did not understand what they were saying. The blazing Mont Blanc was adrift and as it burned, it drifted up to Pier Six, where the fire spread to the wooden pier and some adjoining buildings. Members of the Halifax Fire Department responded and were setting up to fight the fire. Harbor tugs also were responding, their pumps already pouring water into the blazing ship. In the meantime, the people of Halifax were gathering around the harbor to watch the drama unfolding before their eyes. The ship burned for about 20 minutes before it blew up, thus giving people lots of time to gather in harms way. It was estimated that about 1,600 people were standing along the harbor piers to gawk Others were standing at their windows when the Mont Blanc disintegrated in what was believed to be the biggest man-made explosion preceding the nuclear age. At 9:05 a.m. that explosion, which was felt more than 100 miles away, virtually leveled much of the City of Halifax and killed over 2,000 people. Another 9,000 were injured. The blast destroyed 325 acres, almost all of the north-end of the city. Several nearby ships in the harbor, including the Imo, also were destroyed and their crews killed. Right afterward came a super wave, or tsunami, estimated to be at least 30-feet high, that swept bodies out to sea and drowning many who might have survived the explosion. Among the casualties of that super wave were members of a tribe of Micmac Indians, encamped at Tufts cove a few miles away. They said the wave washed away the entire encampment. A photograph of the smoke from the blast, taken from miles away, shows an almost mushroom-shaped cloud, perhaps a premonition of what was to follow in the next world war. Many buildings that were not immediately leveled by the blast burned to the ground. It was said the fires were aided by winter stockpiles of coal in the cellars. Parts of the Mont Blanc were found miles away. Part of the ships anchor was found two miles from the center of the explosion. Windows were shattered as far as 50 miles from the scene, and the shock wave was reportedly felt in Sydney, Cape Breton, 270 miles to the northeast. A disaster of that magnitude was more than local authorities were equipped to handle. Hospitals could not cope with all of the wounded. It happened in the midst of winter and there was a shortage of housing. To make matters worse, the city was hit by a blizzard the following day that dumped 16 inches of snow. As word of the disaster spread, a world-wide relief effort soon got underway. A relief group provided clothing, money, furniture and soon had a major reconstruction project underway. They said three thousand houses were repaired within the first seven weeks. Temporary apartments were constructed that winter at the rate of one every hour. Over 1,500 victims were buried that winter, many of them unidentified. Other bodies were not found until the next spring when the snows melted and the rubble could be excavated. perdurabo10.tripod/ships/id204.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reginald Perry was born in Seaton on 25 February 1892, but by the time of the 1901 census the family was living in Townsend, Beer. Reginald’s father, Richard Perry, was an agricultural labourer and carter, born in Beer, while his mother, Joanna, was born in Seaton. Reginald had two younger sisters, Sarah (aged seven in 1901) and Alice (aged five). Reginald joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class on 5 June 1916. His Royal Navy record describes him as 5ft 7½ in tall, with black hair and brown eyes, and a fresh complexion. He appears to have trained at HMS Vivid, a shore establishment at Devonport, before joining HMS Highflyer, a cruiser, on 1 August 1917. Highflyer carried 11 six-inch guns, and had a crew of 450. For much of the period Reginald was on board, (August 1917 to April 1919) Highflyer was escorting convoys across the North Atlantic. She was in harbour at Halifax, Nova Scotia on the morning of 6 December 1917 when two merchant ships collided in the harbour. One of these, the SS Mont Blanc, due to leave for Bordeaux, was carrying 200 tons of TNT, 2,300 tons of picric acid (an ingredient of military explosive) and 10 tons of gun cotton. The Mont Blanc caught fire and her crew abandoned ship. As she drifted across the harbour, setting fire to a pier, a party from Highflyer, led by Commander Triggs, set off in the ship’s whaler (rowing boat) to assist. At 9.05 am the Mont Blanc blew up in the biggest ever man-made explosion prior to the dropping of the atomic bomb. Almost 2,000 people were killed and 9,000 injured, while around 1,600 buildings were destroyed. Only one of Highflyer’s whaler’s crew was found, and he died soon after. Highflyer took on survivors, including 28 crewmen from the Mont Blanc and some from the Norwegian ship she had collided with. A party of stokers went ashore to give first aid, and it is possible that Reginald was in this group. Highflyer was damaged in the explosion, three seamen on board were killed and 47 injured. Despite the damage and casualties, Highflyer left Halifax on 11 December, escorting a convoy of 31 ships bound for Plymouth, where they arrived on 27 December. On 31 December, Reginald was promoted to Stoker 1st Class. After repairs in Plymouth, Highflyer became the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief North Atlantic and West Indies. Following a spell in Bermuda, she returned to convoy escort work in the North Atlantic, and when the Armistice came in November 1918, Highflyer was escorting a convoy towards Glasgow. She docked there on 12 November 1918. Reginald stayed with HMS Highflyer until he was demobilised on 15 April 1919. He died in 1976, aged 84. devonremembers.co.uk/content/the-honoured/perry-reginald-arthur history/this-day-in-history/munitions-ship-explodes-in-halifax --------------------------------- 1917 diaster in Halifax Harbour After hitting another boat in Halifax, the French ship Mont Blanc, loaded with benzene, picric acid and TNT, caught fire and drifted towards a dock where curious to assemble ;dropoff window Explosion kills more than 1 800 people, made 9,000 injured, 6,000 homeless. and shaves 2.5 km square of the northern district. lessignets/signetsdiane/calendrier/dec/6.htm
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 23:06:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015