of the spoils of its devastation.
Both the explosion and the resultant tsunami caused immense damage to many other ships in Halifax harbour. The vessels nearest the
Mont Blanc
were either themselves blown up or swept away by the wave. The tsunami grounded the
Stella Maris
on the Richmond shore after the explosion killed 19 of her crew, including Captain Brennan. Miraculously, five of her crew survived. The other ship that had been involved in the collision, the
Imo
, had been further away when the
Mont Blanc
âs cargo detonated. Everyone on deck or on the bridge at the time of the explosion died. The force of the water carried the ship up onto the Dartmouth shore.
The
St Bernard
, a South American schooner docked at Pier 6, had caught fire when the
Mont Blanc
crashed into the dock. It was completely destroyed by the explosion. Another schooner, the
Lola R
, was also obliterated. The Canadian tug
Sambro
sank. The British cargo ship
Curaca
, docked at Pier 8, was carried across the harbour to sink at Tuftâs Cove, north of Dartmouth, with 45 lives lost. The
Ragus
, a Canadian work boat, capsized, whilst the tug
Hilford
was blown clear of the water and ended up on Pier 9, where it had been heading before the explosion to warn of the danger.
Other ships severely damaged but not destroyed included the British cargo ships
Middleham Castle, Calonne
and
Picton
. The
Middleham Castle
lost her funnel, the
Calonne
lost 36 crew, and the
Picton
was set on fire. The
Picton
also carried an explosive cargo, and had been only 100ft (31m) from the
Mont Blanc
when the French steamer first caught alight. The foreman supervising the
Picton
âs loading ordered all her hatches closed, and he thereby prevented a secondary explosion. However, he, along with over 60 dockers and most of the
Picton
âs crew, did not survive.
Entangled in telegraph wires, hanging out of the windows of houses, some decapitated by flying wreckage, the dead lay undisturbed amongst the ruins of the burning city.
The Canadian minesweeper
Musquash
was also set on fire, and set adrift, as was the Royal Navy escort ship HMS
Knight Templar
. Several submarines moored at Pier 1 broke loose, but their crews suffered only minor injuries.
The disaster had reduced much of Halifax, Richmond and Dartmouth to a devastated wasteland. Entangled in telegraph wires, hanging out of the windows of houses, some decapitated by flying wreckage, the dead lay undisturbed amongst the ruins of the burning city. The 2,000 final death toll for the Halifax Explosion is an estimate. Because of the mass movement of troops, and the unknowable number of sailors and other transient workers in the harbour at the time of the disaster, the true number of fatal casualties will never be known. What is known is that 600 of the dead were under the age of 15. Many of those who gathered along the shore had been children, to whom the spectacle of the burning ship was obviously more exciting than the prospect of school.
The aftermath
The USS
von Steuben
, a captured German passenger liner now serving as a troop transport for the US Army, was heading home to New York after taking 1,223 soldiers to France. She needed to restock her coal supplies at Halifax and was 40 miles (64km) away just after 9am when suddenly buffeted by a strong concussion. Those on board immediately feared the worst, that they were under torpedo attack from a U-boat, or that the ship had hit a mine. But on the bridge her officers saw a column of fire climb into the sky in the distance, followed by an immense plume of white smoke. Realising something catastrophic had happened in Halifax, the
von Steuben
made best speed to the port. The captain of another ship, the cruiser USS
Tacoma
, also saw the explosion and rushed to help.
With untold numbers trapped under the rubble of thousands of ruined buildings, rescuers faced a race against time.
For those who had survived the explosion, the immediate aftermath provided no relief
Both the explosion and the resultant tsunami caused immense damage to many other ships in Halifax harbour. The vessels nearest the
Mont Blanc
were either themselves blown up or swept away by the wave. The tsunami grounded the
Stella Maris
on the Richmond shore after the explosion killed 19 of her crew, including Captain Brennan. Miraculously, five of her crew survived. The other ship that had been involved in the collision, the
Imo
, had been further away when the
Mont Blanc
âs cargo detonated. Everyone on deck or on the bridge at the time of the explosion died. The force of the water carried the ship up onto the Dartmouth shore.
The
St Bernard
, a South American schooner docked at Pier 6, had caught fire when the
Mont Blanc
crashed into the dock. It was completely destroyed by the explosion. Another schooner, the
Lola R
, was also obliterated. The Canadian tug
Sambro
sank. The British cargo ship
Curaca
, docked at Pier 8, was carried across the harbour to sink at Tuftâs Cove, north of Dartmouth, with 45 lives lost. The
Ragus
, a Canadian work boat, capsized, whilst the tug
Hilford
was blown clear of the water and ended up on Pier 9, where it had been heading before the explosion to warn of the danger.
Other ships severely damaged but not destroyed included the British cargo ships
Middleham Castle, Calonne
and
Picton
. The
Middleham Castle
lost her funnel, the
Calonne
lost 36 crew, and the
Picton
was set on fire. The
Picton
also carried an explosive cargo, and had been only 100ft (31m) from the
Mont Blanc
when the French steamer first caught alight. The foreman supervising the
Picton
âs loading ordered all her hatches closed, and he thereby prevented a secondary explosion. However, he, along with over 60 dockers and most of the
Picton
âs crew, did not survive.
Entangled in telegraph wires, hanging out of the windows of houses, some decapitated by flying wreckage, the dead lay undisturbed amongst the ruins of the burning city.
The Canadian minesweeper
Musquash
was also set on fire, and set adrift, as was the Royal Navy escort ship HMS
Knight Templar
. Several submarines moored at Pier 1 broke loose, but their crews suffered only minor injuries.
The disaster had reduced much of Halifax, Richmond and Dartmouth to a devastated wasteland. Entangled in telegraph wires, hanging out of the windows of houses, some decapitated by flying wreckage, the dead lay undisturbed amongst the ruins of the burning city. The 2,000 final death toll for the Halifax Explosion is an estimate. Because of the mass movement of troops, and the unknowable number of sailors and other transient workers in the harbour at the time of the disaster, the true number of fatal casualties will never be known. What is known is that 600 of the dead were under the age of 15. Many of those who gathered along the shore had been children, to whom the spectacle of the burning ship was obviously more exciting than the prospect of school.
The aftermath
The USS
von Steuben
, a captured German passenger liner now serving as a troop transport for the US Army, was heading home to New York after taking 1,223 soldiers to France. She needed to restock her coal supplies at Halifax and was 40 miles (64km) away just after 9am when suddenly buffeted by a strong concussion. Those on board immediately feared the worst, that they were under torpedo attack from a U-boat, or that the ship had hit a mine. But on the bridge her officers saw a column of fire climb into the sky in the distance, followed by an immense plume of white smoke. Realising something catastrophic had happened in Halifax, the
von Steuben
made best speed to the port. The captain of another ship, the cruiser USS
Tacoma
, also saw the explosion and rushed to help.
With untold numbers trapped under the rubble of thousands of ruined buildings, rescuers faced a race against time.
For those who had survived the explosion, the immediate aftermath provided no relief
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