Halifax Explosion

The Halifax Explosion is the name given to the explosion that occurred on December 6th, 1917, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when two ships, one carrying munitions, collided in the city's harbour. This was the largest ever man-made explosion, until the detonation of Atomic bombs on Hiroshima in 1945.

On this morning, Norwegian ship Imo, on its way to New York to pick up relief supplies for war-torn Belgium, and going faster than it should've, as well as passing to the left of oncoming ships, rather than the customary right, met the French Mont-Blanc, which was carrying explosives for the First World War. After a series of miscommunications between the two ships, the Imo struck the Mont-Blanc on the starboard bow. This generated sparks, lighting benzol on the Mont-Blanc's deck, which seeped into the holds, causing a fire that raged for 20 minutes. Citizens stared out their windows at the black smoke rising into the air, and firefighters tried to put the fire out.

Vincent Coleman, an engineer, was one of the few who realized an explosion was imminent after being warned by a Navy officer.