The Halifax Explosion was a disaster that occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time, releasing the equivalent energy of roughly 2. 9 kilotons of TNT. The initial judicial inquiry found Mont-Blanc to have been responsible for the disaster, but a later appeal determined that both vessels were to blame.
About Halifax Explosion in brief
The Halifax Explosion was a disaster that occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time, releasing the equivalent energy of roughly 2. 9 kilotons of TNT. The initial judicial inquiry found Mont-Blanc to have been responsible for the disaster, but a later appeal determined that both vessels were to blame. Nearly all structures within an 800-metre radius, including the community of Richmond, were obliterated. The harbour was one of the British Royal Navy’s most important bases in North America, a centre for wartime trade, and a home to privateers who harried the British Empire’s enemies during the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812. In 1915, management of the harbour fell under the control of the Royal Canadian Navy under the supervision of Captain Superintendent Edward Harrington Martin. By 1917, Halifax’s inner harbour had become a principal assembly point for merchant convoys leaving for Britain and France. The population of Dartmouth had increased to between 60,000 and 65,000 men, by 1917. The main points of departure were in Nova Scotia at Cape Breton Island, Halifax, and Sydney. The city was protected by two sets of anti-submarine nets and guarded by patrol ships of the Canadian Navy. A new military hospital was constructed in the city in the early 1900s.
The Canadian government took over the Halifax Dockyard from the Royal Navy upon its founding in 1910. Just before the First World War, the Canadian government began a determined, costly effort to develop the harbour and waterfront facilities. The Royal Navy assumed responsibility for maintaining Atlantic trade routes by re-adopting Halifax as its North American base of operations. The success of the Allies’ convoy system led the Allies to institute a convoy system to reduce losses while transporting goods and soldiers to Europe. A pressure wave snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels, and scattered fragments of Mont- Blanc for kilometres. The explosion wiped out the community of the Mi’kmaq First Nation who had lived in the Tufts Cove area for generations. The town of Dartmouth was also devastated by the disaster. The Halifax Explosion is commemorated on the east shore of Halifax Harbour, and Halifax is on the west shore. In the North End, there are several memorials to the victims of the explosion. In Dartmouth, there is also a memorial to the many people left homeless began soon after the disaster and a temporary shelter was built to house the many homeless. By 1917 there was a growing naval fleet in Halifax,. including patrol ships, tugboats, and minesweepers, and two theatre of war men, the European theatre of the war. Convoys carried goods and supplies to Europe, the main points of departure were in Halifax, on CapeBreton Island and Halifax.
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This page is based on the article Halifax Explosion published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
