Source of Threat and Source of Assistance: The Maritime Aspect of the 1917 Halifax Explosion

Abstract

The 1917 Halifax explosion is usually thought of as an event that devastated the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth. It is true that most of the 1963 dead and 9000 injured were civilians -the largest single group of dead were Roman Catholics and/or housewives -and the greatest damage was to private homes in the Halifax's North End. But the explosion resulted from a fire caused by a collision between a Norwegian and a French ship. It damaged or destroyed four British merchant ships -Calonne, Curaca, Middleham Castle and Picton -and a Norwegian vessel (Hovland). It caused substantial damage to the British cruiser, High Flyer, a US Coast Guard vessel, Morill; three tugs, Hilford, Stella Maris and Wasper B; and another smaller vessel, Raguse. It also destroyed a schooner, San Bernardo. It left Halifax harbour so badly damaged that convoys were delayed, some incoming traffic was re-routed and the Admiralty changed the rules for North Atlantic shipping. After the explosion, sailors from British, Canadian and American ships in harbour helped in search and rescue, and teamed up with civilians to use boats to transport the injured along the waterfront. 1 A US Navy ship, Old Colony, became a floating hospital. In addition, two other USN vessels, Tacoma and Von Steuben, arrived in Halifax five and one-half hours after the explosion. For eight days, they assisted the Canadian Army with security. After reviewing the situation in Halifax harbour prior to the explosion, this article looks at the collision that led to the fire and eventually to the explosion. It then discusses the response, before turning to an examination of the way that blame was assessed. Finally, there is a discussion of the implications of the Halifax harbour incident for maritime response to seaport incidents, and concludes that while ports are prone to disasters, effective response may come from the sea. 2 There is already a great deal of literature about the Halifax explosion. There are four novels set in and around the explosion, two of them semi-autobiographical. 3 As well, there are scores of non-fiction accounts. The first doctoral dissertation to examine the phenomenon of disasters dealt with the explosion. 4 There is an unpublished manuscript by a Dartmouth journalist, Dwight Johnstone, and an instant book by another journalist, Stanley Smith. 5