The Halifax Explosion By Maria Lazar, Dorothea Kefer, Christynna Costa

Halifax before the Explosion Halifax was changing and growing very quickly into a solid province. It was the chief transport link between Canada and Europe. Ships from all over the world came to Halifax to transport goods to the war zone.

IMO The IMO was a Norwegian ship originally used as a livestock carrier, but in 1912 it was registered as a supply ship for the South Pacific whaling company. The captain of the IMO was Haakon From, he controlled a crew of 39 people.

The Mont Blanc The Mont Blanc was a cargo ammunition ship owned by the French. The ship had a depth of 15.3 feet, a width of 44.8 feet and 320 feet long. The captain of The Mont Blanc was Aime Le Medec, who controlled 41 French sailors. As a safety warning, crew weren't allowed to smoke, bring matches, or liquor on the ship because of the many explosives that they carried

Before The Collision The Mont Blanc left her anchorage outside the mouth of the harbor to join a convoy gathering in Bedford Basin. The Mont Blanc was carrying 2300 tons of wet and dry picric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton, and 35 tons of Benzol. The IMO was behind schedule time so it had to hurry out of the Bedford basin.

The Collision At approximately 8:45am the two boats were at the slimmest part of the Halifax harbor, that’s where they collided It wasn't big collision but the friction of the two boats erupted into a fire rapidly. When people saw the collision, some came down to the harbor to view, while others looked out windows whether they were at work, at home or at school.

The Explosion For 20 minutes the ship was burning and drifted closer to the harbor, where people formed crowds, not knowing the danger they were putting themselves into. At approximately 9:05am, the ship exploded with a roar heard from 320Km away and a force that devastated the city A huge tidal wave was sent to the harbor and raging fire occurred over the whole city.

The Effects Of The Explosion Churches, houses, schools, factories, docks, and other ships in the harbour got demolished 1,600 people were killed, and 1,630 homes were completely demolished. Another 6,000 people were left without shelter.

Aftermath & Recovery Within 2 days, ships from Boston arrived with $300,000 worth of relief supplies. Millions of dollars were donated from around the world to help relief the devastation of Halifax.

Remembering Halifax The Halifax explosion was the greatest man made explosion since the Atomic bomb(1945). To this day on December 6 th, a memorial bell is rung at 9am in memory of this tragic event. Every Christmas, Halifax sends a big Christmas tree to Boston to thank them for their support and relief.