A Brief History of: The Halifax Explosion (1917)

In 1917 Nova Scotia saw the largest pre atomic man made explosion. All caused by the SS Imo and SS Mont Blonc bumping into each other in Halifax Harbour.
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Sources:
www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
www.macleans.ca/news/canada/t...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax...
www.halifaxexplosion.org
novascotia.ca/archives/

[@connortheandroidsentbycybe7740]

For those that don't realise how huge this explosion was, it was *the single largest unintentional man-made explosion ever* a record that *still stands*

[@connortheandroidsentbycybe7740]

Except, that's not what I said, is it, Nathaniel?

[@connortheandroidsentbycybe7740]

Any evidence to back up your claims?

[@Ty-yt3lj]

nathaniel bugg are you assuming that people don't lie and exaggerate?

[@pontiuspilot9301]

@@nathanielbugg7355 6 Dec 1917: ship collision with a French munitions carrier in Halifax Harbour - 2766 tons of various explosives 4,000 prepared charges, 150,000 pounds (75 tons) of black powder, 1000000+ musket cartridges www.engr.psu.edu/cde/Short/MPS_course/newpage/Exp-Dam-Ass-1.pdf

[@pontiuspilot9301]

@@nathanielbugg7355 source for 1810 explosion books.google.ca/books?id=ouAbDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=almeida+1810+explosion&source=bl&ots=ATIfXLfXnG&sig=ACfU3U2Qtk1jmd96Ei1iln-0uekkoOP4iQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpx_Xjg5DgAhVtUd8KHSp6D4MQ6AEwDXoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=almeida%201810%20explosion&f=false

[@richcast66]

Patrick is such an amazing human. He gave his one and only life away for the sake of a bunch of people on a train he didn’t know. And he did it all with his head held high, accepting his death after warning that train. What a way to go, I salute this man.

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

He went by Vincent or Vince.

[@Illumiae]

@@TheEmeraldMenOfficial I live in the apartment building named after him, The Vincent Coleman. There's a mass grave site beside the place that is only marked by a small circle of trees with a plaque in the centre

[@jbrone1965]

"Come on come on, acknowledge!!!" That Heritage commercial is forever etched in my memory.

[@a.j.carter8975]

❤️😀🇬🇧 always interesting. I live near Burton-upon-Trent. In WW2 there was an RAF bomb store that went up. According to local farmers there was a seismic shock wave travelling through the fields a yard high that knocked them over. Id love to know more. Also isn't there a sunken ship full of hi ex in the Thames near central Londen left over from WW2? I hope I'm not mawkish, these stories just show how brave people were, back in the day. Nowadays people panic if there's no loo roll for 2 days.

[@brianmonroe488]

His one and ONLY life?

[@Timbobjr]

Here's an old sailing poem that I find to be very relevant to this whole debacle "Here lies the body of Johnny O'Day who died preserving his right of way. He was right, dead right, as he sailed along but he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong"

[@JTA1961]

Don't matter who's right. It matters about who's LEFT

[@tugatomskanimation6370]

How true.

[@Aatell764]

Thanks for sharing that it's really cool

[@hauntedshadowslegacy2826]

Translation for those who might have trouble understanding: Hey, sailors. Don't be a stubborn idiot. You'll die.

[@Mimbesi920]

The propeller on the Imo was not offset to one side. The term right-handed propeller refers to the direction of rotation. It rotates to the right (clockwise when viewed from the stern). The transverse thrust only occurs when in reverse, and is the result of the fact that a propeller tends to induce a rotational component in the water that passes it. When a ship is moving forwards, this rotation just goes into the water behind the ship, but when moving backwards, the rotation hits the ship's hull. The bottom half, which is moving to the ship's starboard side, can move under the hull, but the top half, which is moving to port, can't go that way, and so it pushes the ship's stern to port, which swings the bow to starboard.

[@JTA1961]

Props to you. I did not know that & now I do.

[@juanakatony1]

Facts like this make all the difference so thank u mike. Very well explained with no more or less needed to even have a toddler understand it. I on the other hand wouldn’t know where to start lol.

[@pkneeno]

Exacty correct. My dad was captain of a 125' fishing boat. He would take advantage of this effect when leaving a dock. With three boats tied up ahead and three astern, he'd goose the engine in reverse for a few seconds and stop it. The bow rotated to starboard.T Then he would goose ahead for a few seconds with a left rudder to bring the stern out to starboard. This maneuver has the effect of moving the boat laterally when you do it 3 or four times. You have to be aware of the wind also. You do it slowly, minimum power each time. It had people on the dock fascinated.

[@SiliconBong]

I'm glad there are people like you in the world.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@phdfxwg Fischercat I guess those came later.

[@fredhasopinions]

"Due to a letter found on his person that was thought to be written in German. However it turned out to be in Norwegian" - how incredibly unexpected that the captain of a norwegian ship would have a norwegian letter on him

[@christopher9727]

... Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@eric45]

100 years later Halifax is still recovering from this the city would most likely be double the size it is today if it was not for this. U also forgot to mention the huge blizzard that arrived the day after the explosion witch resulted in most of the deaths.. As well that Boston was key in sending help and that Nova Scotia still send them a Christmas tree every year to thank them for the help provided

[@JTA1961]

Didn't know that either. Thanks for sharing. & thanks to whomevers task it is to make the tree thing happen. You all are above us in several ways.

[@inversecow]

Confirmed, and its a matter of pride (and bragging rights, its a "Maritimer" thing) on exactly which farmer wins the right to send their tree down to Boston each year. Lived there 10 years and you can still feel the energy and history of this (among other) events there. Now I want grab a donair and go for a walk along the waterfront to visit Theodore Tugboat.

[@JimmyJamesJ]

CORRECTION: The Halifax explosion was not “one of the largest explosions of the [great] war” it was the single largest man made explosion in history and maintained that distinction until the detonation of the trinity device on July 16, 1945. Or as as Marvin would say "an earth shattering KaBooM!"

[@Shaggyshadric]

Jeffrey Templeton well said. It’s surprising more people don’t know about it or grasp the scale of the destruction

[@GewelReal]

_laughs in Lebanon_

[@lukkyluciano]

when Lebanon happened I thought of Halifax and wonder how it compares

[@isilder]

Well so it was one of the largest exolosions on ww1 then ??? That wasnt actually wrong was it ?

[@annegrey3780]

@@isilder I mean I guess it is correct to say the Halifax explosion was "one of the biggest explosions of WW1" in the same sense it is correct to say "Russia is one of the biggest countries on Earth", it's not wrong, but wouldn't it just be more to the point to say its "the biggest" when it is?

[@stevenweaver3386]

Within hours a train filled with medical supplies and staff had left Boston, it arrived the next day. As a gesture of goodwill, every year for 100 years a large tree is sent to Boston for Christmas. It is set up and decorated on the Boston Common.

[@og1ie]

not one hundred years.

[@toshiroyamada2443]

Nice an all but we all know this is really a show of white supremacy and racism

[@lmcg9904]

@@toshiroyamada2443 go spread your shit somewhere else

[@yegfreethinker]

@@toshiroyamada2443 get a life

[@ro4eva]

@@toshiroyamada2443 -- People who actually find your comment to be completely reasonable are why my family and I permanently severed ties with the DNC approximately 13 months ago after many years of logistical + financial support (which we now deeply regret). And we're not the only ones by a long-shot. We're collectively beyond fed up with the radical left.

[@HyperCarrotArtist8]

Great video! I visited Halifax a few years ago and I heard an interesting story about this explosion. (Sorry I can’t remember the specifics, but here it goes:) On the day of the explosion, class was in session at a school somewhere within the blast radius, and the students were distracted and looking out the window. The teacher was annoyed at this, so she drew heavy curtains across the windows to get her class to pay attention. Soon after, the shock wave came through and broke the windows, but the thick curtains shielded the class from the glass shards. The students and their vision were saved thanks to their teacher being annoyed at them.

[@alwaysjordan7032]

Mont-Blanc: “Stop, you’re going to hit a ship full of benzol and kill all of us” Imo: (bugs bunny meme) *no*

[@Codraroll]

"Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbour making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys." Dang, imagine being the guy who has to sit there and send that message. He could have ran for it and possibly got away, but he stayed, knowing well what would happen to him a couple of minutes later. That takes some nerves.

[@conorcorrigan765]

That guy has his own "heritage minute" now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKiQd5Wtot-DgdE

[@rpm1796]

Why did he stay?....He was a Nova Scotian.🕯🍁

[@joefox9875]

Rather than sending a cool message, he should have run. Maybe he could have yelled a warning to more people on the way.

[@ajaxengineco]

@@joefox9875 And then guess what would have happened? The passenger train arrives and gets destroyed.

[@landshark3509]

He and his coworker both ran at first, with him only turning back when he heard about the incoming train. They both died

[@Illumiae]

Born, raised and still live in Halifax it'll always be my home. I can't believe one of my favorite KZbinrs did a video on the explotion!

[@Red1676]

Someone who grew up in the valley, watch out for those halifax harbor white fish. Lol me and my friends used to take bets on how many wed see when visiting Halifax. Lol

[@isaiahbray9312]

Same here brotha!

[@ro4eva]

Random question (for anyone who resides or resided there): How cold do the winters get? And are they especially severe in terms of sheer volume of snow?

[@mgabrysSF]

Vince didn't just stop one passenger train inbound, he effectively halted all inbound rail as the message flowed down the line as far as Truro. A ferry was named in his honor in 2017 and entered service in March 2018 (3 months before this video was published). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Coleman_(train_dispatcher)

[@greatwhitenorth1418]

Little known fact: The Halifax explosion was part of the research in the Manhattan project. They figured out that the size of the explosion was due to the perfect gap between the initial explosion and the sea floor which amplified it when it bounced off the floor. That's where they got the idea to detonate the A bomb a certain height off the ground

[@lifesimulator3964]

SS Imo... Wait a minute! Imo -> Emo Emo -> Emu! Sh*t! The Emu's strike again!

[@Adamant_Consternation]

Emu has three letters! Half-Life 3 confirmed!

[@jasonperry7428]

You’re telling me the emu war of 1917 involved Canadian soldiers too!

[@MachineMan-mj4gj]

@@jasonperry7428 the Feathered Menace has agents everywhere!

[@yagamil46]

And Australian farmers are once again, fending for their lives.

[@dogetwinkie2225]

When I was younger, we did lots of projects about this in school and I thought everyone learned about this, then I got older and realized "damn, this isn't as popular" and every time I see a comment like: "wow such a small incident" I die inside

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Seems the big, long term exposure is more locally. Happens quite often actually.

[@DrCandyStriper]

I imagine it's the same how everyone around here knows about the Tacoma narrows bridge incident but outside the PNW this is just not the case. Though, admittedly, the bridge is a much smaller incident.

[@rosenliz9469]

@@DrCandyStriper Old comment I know I know, but nah Tacoma Narrows is like the textbook example of resonance. I was taught about the bridge collapse in high school physics in Eastern Canada, so that one is definitely more well known, at least in North America.

[@Ty-yt3lj]

this is why you don't forget the other propeller while building the ship.

[@JTA1961]

Props to you

[@flexelsson1625]

Joel Atteberry please tell me thats a pun

[@FirstDagger]

@@flexelsson1625 ; Propably.

[@flexelsson1625]

FirstDagger very punny😝

[@leegenix]

LOL...

[@fredhasopinions]

Didn't find someone who'd commented this so I guess I will: Let me sing you a song, boys, of fire and flame Of a French ammo ship, the Montblanc was her name How the brave Nova Scotia was never the same On the morning when Halifax burned. Twas in early December 1917, she was packed to the gills with grade A TNT. They were bound for the fighting in High Germany when towards them the other ship turned. The Norwegian ship Imo, some fault in her gears She struck Montblanc's side like the mightiest of spears, and the Benzol ignited the captain's worst fears as the fire consumed bow to stern. The people gazed on from their safe distant rooms, watched the soot and the smoke fill the sky with their plumes, but within the ship's cargo would spell all their dooms: how were they to know to be concerned? The crew rowed for shore lest they burn or they drown, they cried "save your souls!" as they ran through the town, but their warnings were nothing but strange foreign sounds for the townsfolk, no French had they learned. One man Patrick Coleman in the railway's employ sent word, "Stop the trains, or they'll all be destroyed. This will be my last message, farewell to you boys." for a true hero's death he had earned. An explosion colossal as the munitions blew - devastation and debris for miles fire through. The Montblanc was gone and the town with it too, and the waters raged up in return. There were heroes and angels all fated to die, over two thousand souls laid to rest by and by, We will always remember and lift a glass high To the morning when Halifax burned. -Fire and Flame, by The Longest Johns

[@yagamil46]

YES THIS, I just now commented about this song, saying it's very accurate to what happened. I'm glad I'm not the only longest johns listener

[@codykillir10]

Reminds me of the 1947 Texas City disaster, a ship hauling fertilizer caught fire and exploded leveling most of the city.

[@JTA1961]

Sent to Heaven in 47🔥🌚🔥

[@colleenross8752]

And now the disaster in Beruit

[@hauntedshadowslegacy2826]

Yikes... Texas City has some real bad luck with explosions. An oil refinery explosion took place there, too. The USCSB has a rather high-quality animation plus analysis of the incident. Just be aware of the numerous deaths before you watch it; make sure you're in a secure mental state. First and foremost, care for yourself.

[@dellahicks7231]

Most Canadians are aware of Vince Coleman because of a 'Heritage Minutes' that was produced for television, showing his heroics.

[@prot6729]

All Imo's fault.

[@matsinkal]

It's always the Emo's fault that's why they are sad.:(

[@josephthomas8318]

If the French sailors grew a pair and tried to fight the fire it could have been avoided as well

[@dragonsember]

its clearly the captain of the imo's fault. the equivalent is if im driving above the speed limit on the wrong side of the road and get into the wreck with a car which then explodes and then the driver of the other car is found guilty for not avoiding me in time while their car is full of gas. jesus.

[@hevendor958]

since that the Imo was repaired and was changed to Guvernøren how ever its half sunken in Foyn harbor

[@anthonyhayes1267]

It's not his fault. It's just that no one understands him.

[@stephenhaliday1791]

Fun Fact HMCS Acadia Is still afloat as a museum ship in Halifax

[@KennethScottHuntley]

I hate to be nitpicky but it sounds like “HMCS Arcadia” at 4:55; a lot of people not familiar with Maritime Canada assume whenever they come across an Acadia that it’s a typo for Arcadia when no correction was necessary.

[@stephenhaliday1791]

@@KennethScottHuntley Its not, theres never been An HMCS Arcadia, and the Acadia was a WW1 ship present during the explosion

[@KennethScottHuntley]

I don’t know why you think I’m disagreeing with you. I’m saying the video got it wrong, not you.

[@svleeuwen1995]

Sticking with massive explosions, I'd love to see a video about the "Delftse Donderslag", which was a massive gunpowder storage explosion in the middle of my hometown Delft in the Netherlands in 1654

[@Red1676]

My great grandmother lived in Windsor NS (home of mr lahey) when this happened, she said all she remembered was the house shook a bit. Windsor is about a hour out of the city (Halifax.) She was really young when this happened too. Sadly, the city truly never recovered from that incident economy wise and just bad politics. The harbor is so polluted that I remember my teach tell me that one point that the water would remove paint from boats. The city was supposed to be a much more major port and was supposed to be one of the largest cities in Canada. That's just scratching the surface, like the black community that got screwed over and relocated to Preston, the largest crime area of the city.

[@jenniferbrewer5370]

I'm glad your great-grandmother wasn't injured in the blast.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

(2:48) "Ships were expected to travel on the right Port side as the passed oncoming ships - eh? Port is left & Starboard is right. If they were travelling in the left 'lane' then sgìos would pass them on the right Starboard side.

[@shark180]

West? I thought you said Weast.

[@steve1978ger]

Actually the terminology is a bit more involved. For a ship, starboard is indeed the right hand side, and port the left hand side *when* looking from stern to bow. Other than "right" and "left", these do not flip around when the ship happens to move backwards. But channels like the Halifax Narrows also have a *fixed* port and starboard side! For the Americas, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, these are (with few exceptions) assigned looking out towards the ocean (the rest of the world does it the other way round). So when your ship goes out of Halifax, you are supposed to keep "to your right", which is the starboard side of the channel, and when you're going into Halifax, you're also supposed to keep "to your right", which is the port side of the channel. No matter which way you're going, you're supposed to keep vessels moving in the other direction on your port side, or "to your left".

[@steve1978ger]

@@VodPJ24uEgkkZT yes

[@DennisMski]

I was hoping you'd talk more about the contents of the ship with the explosives like Sixty Symbol's video did. They had tonnes of liquid and dry picric acid. Lead azide. TNT. Benzol. And many more.

[@andrewcurtin7003]

So a certified "boat of boom"

[@DamoBloggs]

Heh, I speed-read the blurb below the video and read it as 'All caused by the SS in my opinion' lol! What a truly awesome catastrophe - great video as always chap!

[@halifaxtrails]

Very well done. Our local, historic tragedy isn't well known outside of our province but should be.

[@Arterexius]

I've got a book about some of the largest catastrophes over the past 100 years (cirka. It's from before 2010) where the Halifax Explosion is mentioned and where I first learned about it. I live in Denmark btw.

[@patamaran]

I live in ontario, we watched the Halifax explosion heritage minutes on tv all through our childhoods and learned about the halifax explosion in grade 10 history, mandatory in the ontario curriculum. So, respectfully, it is very well known, at least in ON.

[@KendrickMan]

@@patamaran Holy shit, we didn't even learn about it in school in nova scotia. 100 points for Gryffontario!

[@flagovhate]

@@patamaran same here

[@hauntedshadowslegacy2826]

Westcoast U.S. resident here. I'd heard vague mentions about a devastating explosion in a place called 'Halifax' growing up, but never heard the full story until I found this video. It's talked about off and on in various places, but it's just not the sort of topic people discuss at length in casual conversations.

[@yagamil46]

I think one of the best songs that has described this incident in detail is Fire & Flame by The Longest Johns. It is read like a story and a song. It's worth listening to, as the entire song is accurate to the actual history of Halifax, just like this video I have commented on. The song itself is short but does give a good reconstruction of what happened. Just not in as extensive detail as Plainly Difficult does with their 14 minute video. Thank you Plainly Difficult for going into great detail about this. It is interesting hearing about it.

[@omegawalnutchug2645]

I may add that the montblanc carrying the explosives did not have a flag indicating it and explosive cargo and that caused crowds to gather not knowing the ship had explosives on board

[@BeerDad69]

This was the best most detailed depiction of the event I’ve come across Thank you for this

[@oli24yt]

growing up in nova scotia, the halifax explosion was one of the first major disasters i ever learned about as a small kid. was crazy to think about something so cataclysmic taking place somewhere i knew and regularly visited, reading up on how that could possibly have happened likely had a lot to do with sparking my interest in disasters. also, amazing to see all the people in the comments so moved by vince coleman's heroic story - nowadays, one of the hfx transit ferries that shuttles commuters safely back and forth across the narrows each day is named in his honour

[@reddoguk7405]

Just one more event in history I'd have no idea about thank you. Tragic yet awesome at the same time.

[@sky.9252]

Those damn edgy emo ships

[@positronicfeed]

So one of the ships was overspeeding and was on the wrong side of the channel but the other ships crew and pilot were found guilty. Sounds about right.

[@holysirsalad]

Imagine having a fragile ship full of extremely delicate and dangerous cargo and going full Karen instead of trying to save yourself

[@donnawoodman6249]

I remember my grammie telling me about that time. She said that all the windows were rattling in the house, it scared them as they thought some place just got bombed.

[@22Tesla]

Notice to those angry that the Mont Blanc received all the blame, don't worry. In three separate court hearings in escalating levels of law, the first two blamed the Mont Blanc and the third and final court hearing placed blame equally on both ships so don't worry, that law breaker got it's share of the blame

[@joelspaulding5964]

Had the pleasure of playing a club for 7 nights in Halifax circa 1992. My youthful ignorance and nighthawk schedule kept me from learning the incredible history of the city and the Provence. Probably first heard of this disaster 20 years ago... Thanks for the rather comprehensive review. Subsribed.

[@joelspaulding5964]

Province. Subscribed.

[@TMouse-hd5jb]

2:58 I beg your pardon, good sir. The Imperial Fleet does not bow down to the use of navigational lights or markers. You either get out of their way or they blast you with high powered lasers. After all, that is what they did to the asteroid field trying to find the Millenium Falcon!

[@thebonesaw..4634]

Two miles per hour! That's pure madness! How could anyone even think at such a breakneck speed? How did these men ever become captains with a penchant for such risky behavior coursing through their veins?

[@Tindometari]

Er, have you ever tried steering a large freighter? They are not sports cars; "agile" and "quickly responsive" are not terms that come to mind. You command a course change, and then you're likely to have time to finish your coffee while the ship comes around to the new heading. Even today, with much more powerful engines and radar and the full range of modern navigational kit, harbour pilots routinely monitor their course and other ships' movements and have to think several minutes ahead. This is why ship collisions are usually veerrryyyy ssssslllllloooooowwwwwww events, and the respective crews often get to watch helplessly, seeing the inevitable coming long before the actual impact.

[@thebonesaw..4634]

@@Tindometari -- Wow! Way to totally miss the joke. I'd say nothing gets past you but... it appears that everything does. Well, since were getting all literal: I have in fact steered a large naval vessel on multiple occasions. And I have watched as hundreds of them were backed out of drydock and then sent about their merry way (turning 90 degrees in the space of only two or three hundred feet at only two or three knots). And they are far more responsive at being able to turn in less than half a mile while at cruising speed. At 15 knots, a cargo ship from that era could expect, on average, to turn about 30 degrees within about five- or six-hundred feet.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I actually got that reference. But it's true. Those ships can have breaking distances measured in miles.

[@bos2pdx2yvr]

I first learned about the Halifax explosion when I was a university student in Boston in the early 90s. The City of Halifax sends the City of Boston a very special thank you gift every year - the city's official Christmas tree! Every year at the tree lighting ceremony they tell the story of how the people of Boston (and New England) sent aid to Halifax, and how grateful the people of Nova Scotia were for their quick generosity.

[@andyf8469]

I quite enjoyed the interchange between metric and imperial measures, outstanding! 🤣

[@svampebob007]

Mont Blanc: *HOOOOOK* please move. IMO: YOU'RE NOT MY DAD!

[@keeganpenney169]

Thanks for doing this, inaccuracies or not I have relatives who were killed in the explosion so I'm sure they thank you.

[@JohnM4jc]

i think this is the best video on the topiv to date, adding a lot of side info that others do not present. Good job!

[@stevenweaver3386]

A Micmac settlement at Tufts Cove on the Dartmouth side had 39 killed.

[@gyromurphy]

Brief or not I love the videos. Make em 2 hours long of need be. I'll watch

[@24daytona26]

I'm so glad your new vid is here to make the day allot better.

[@Alex-xc5pl]

As a long time resident of halifax I though I’d add some knowledge I collected! A really interesting note is what happened to pier 6, which was completely destroyed by the blast to the degree that there was basically nothing left to show it had even existed. It was never rebuilt. Another not is the Hydrostone an area of halifax made almost entirely of stone blocks created after the explosion!

[@LynxBlack]

Big up Middlesbrough, rare to see us get mentioned despite the impact of Teesside on the world

[@michaeldwyer1966]

I absolutely love your Channel! Just found it the other day, your videos are really fantastic

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks glad you found the channel!

[@KendrickMan]

Since a lot of comments are asking for more canada videos, will you do one on the springhill bump? Just because it would be cool if two of the disasters that killed my relatives before I was born were covered by the same channel, lol. I mean, this one was cool, why not 2? :P

[@tommygun6866]

Talk about stepping up your production quality! Amazing video!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@captainbarbossa5201]

At 7:42, I heard a familiar tune. I then noticed it to be Mars, Bringer of war

[@thatguy6919]

I listen to the Planets suite all the time as well

[@blazecampbell8280]

gotta love when i can watch one of my favorite youtubers for research

[@michaelhowell2326]

This was great! Your videos highlight historical moments I've almost always never heard of, and I consider myself pretty informed on these sorts of things. Looking forward to your next video!

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

How can you "almost never heard?" That's pretty binary. Almost 1 or 0.

[@regular-joe]

This is the best of the several videos I've watched about the event of the explosion. Others have good details regarding the aftermath, and I'm content with that.

[@calska140]

Nice use of Gustav Holst - Mars. Gustav Holst's The Planets is the classical symphony everybody's heard countless times but few can name.

[@thisisjames4474]

Wow, I fancy myself a bit of a history buff but I've never even heard of this! Great content.

[@Red1676]

It's on every Canadian history PSA. Was big deal in ww2.

[@martintheirish]

Nice! More canadian stuff! Please make one about Leo Major!

[@AARONSHEERN]

Another similar incident is the explosion of the USS Mount Hood during the war in the Pacific. She exploded with about 3,800 tonnes of ammunition.

[@ReverendTed]

Another event worth exploring is the 1937 New London School Explosion. That tragedy is one of the main reasons natural gas now smells like rotten eggs. (The letter of condolence from a certain German Chancellor is a particularly chilling artifact.)

[@skizzik121]

10:52 is the most Canadian thing ever and to be fair it's beautiful and wonderful Nova Scotia still sends Boston thank you cards to this day

[@Aatell764]

Man that's one hell of an explosion in the wrong spot

[@maxischew514]

Do the emu war please.

[@VictorGarciaR]

literally everyone made that video. Farmers wanted the government to kill emus. Government said "fuck that shit, too expensive". An idiot said "lets declare war, that way it will be an army problem " Army said "fuck off, ill give ya 3 pals and an old car"

[@dogetwinkie2225]

Mycel why u hate on Emus? SPECIESIST

[@ShopeeMarketteam]

Too gruesome, wouldn't be safe for KZbin

[@LogicalQ]

Video Starts: Chopin Revolutionary Etude. Me: this is going to be good.

[@pikmaniac2643]

And this is why you follow the speed limit, folks

[@zacksstuff]

Absolutely fascinating as always. Well done!

[@lux132]

This video is Amazing, great work!

[@mrPauljacob]

Damn i would have bever guessed that the explosion would if been so powerful. Thats crazy.

[@rostermaan1321]

There were heroes and angels all fated to die Over two thousand souls laid to rest by-and-by We will always remember and lift a glass high To the morning when Halifax burned

[@starbomber]

"Let me sing you a song boys of fire and flame. Of a French ammo ship the Mont Blonc was her name. How the brave nova scotia was never the same, on the morning when Halifax burned" ~ The Longest Johns, Fire and Flame.

[@jommydavi2197]

Amazing video as always mate

[@rngghost9166]

But no one talks about the fact that the Stella maris tried to put out the fire and tried to stop the fire from spreading to the shore

[@HistoryHouseProductions]

It must be hard to get research done on such obscure topics. Props to you!

[@xanderdekegel2559]

History House Productions this one is pretty well known tho

[@PlainlyDifficult]

To be fair it was one of the easier events to research as there are some really passionate people at www.halifaxexplosion.org who have brilliantly documented the event! thanks for the comment!

[@HistoryHouseProductions]

Plainly Difficult That’s awesome that this event has its own website!

[@irispark1381]

I remember learning this in elementary... if you live in Ontario that is.

[@pontiuspilot9301]

@@irispark1381 Barometer Rising was a book we read in school in the early 60's Ontario. Peace

[@comowowade7864]

Since you did the Halifax explosion, what about the port Chicago disaster?

[@PlainlyDifficult]

thanks for the suggestion ill have a look into it!

[@dumptrump3788]

I saw some of the wreckage when I visited Halifax a few years back. Nothing prepares you for standing in front of huge pieces of steel & reading how far in land they had been found. Pictures are good but just don't do it justice.

[@onlyrick]

Did anyone else notice the spaceship at 3:00? Good job, PD. Surreptitious and blatant at the same time! I'll be checking out more from you guys. Be Cool.

[@skylark306]

Rick Malchow there’s also a Moskva in the mix

[@colleennewholy9026]

It's a Star Destroyer, can't tell which class tho

[@tcpratt1660]

@@colleennewholy9026 Well, after all, an Empire is an empire, whether the march be "God Save The King" or the "Palpatine Symphony Op. 18.5" (known colloquially as the "Imperial March")

[@just_kos99]

I checked again via Google about the largest non-nuclear explosion ever, and it's still Halifax. The more-recent Beirut explosion was 1/3 of the power of the Halifax accident.

[@kris220b]

Would just like to actually explain what a pilot is in this case. A pilot in naval terms is a sailer with great knowlegde of the local area, who can guide incomming ships trough. Ships with a pilot onboard marks it with the Hotal flag ( square thats white on the left and red on the right ) during day hours, and with a white light ontop of a red light ( 360 degrees visivility ) during darkness.

[@asteverino8569]

This was a huge explosion, by standards of any time in history. Thanks, P D.

[@aidanfarnan4683]

If you haven't already done so, a video on the Port Chicago disaster in LA in WW2 might be a good companion piece to this.

[@KendrickMan]

Just in case anyone's halfway through, and it's looking grim, don't worry, there's still a halifax

[@jackpinnick9752]

Another great video can you do a video on the nuclear bunkers hidden all around the uk there like 2 near me

[@invalidusername6809]

The phrase “right port side” through me of for a second

[@pkneeno]

I think he meant right, so the ships wd pass port to port.

[@bok..]

I did an essay on This in grade 5 about 10 years ago.

[@joshvanhoose8994]

Man you have such a soothing voice

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@PieDoesRoblox]

Give a Brief History John Snow and the 1854 Broad Street Cholera Outbreak

[@mr.k4386]

Didn't expect you here xd

[@sidharthcs2110]

Extra credits covered it

[@FeedScrn]

He did this. It was a great video.

[@Bruhmoment-zy9te]

i live in Nova Scotia in Truro very good video

[@williameddlewis4625]

the right port side... remember kid this little trick STARBOARD is always the RIGHT way to go. Other wise a fantastic vid thank you for getting me interested enough to go do some reading!

[@garyjust.johnson1436]

Thankyou for another awesome video!

[@ilexgarodan]

Allegedly, one of my ancestors heard the explosion all the way over on Prince Edward Island.

[@shaldurprime7154]

You should do 'A Brief History of: The SS Cap Arcona' I swear to god its the wildest series of events in WW2 and it doesn't get the coverage it deserves, it started out as the flagship ocean liner of the Hamburg-South America Line, it was seized in 1940 for use as an accommodation ship. in 1942 it was the set of the German propaganda film Titanic, in January 1945 the Cap Arcona would sail alongside the Wilhelm Gustloff in Operation Hannibal, evacuating nearly 26,000 troops and civilians, and in the days between hitlers suicide and germanys surrender, its brief use as a concentration ship was brought to an end in a British raid on the harbor of lubeck, it and several other prison ships were sunk, resulting in massive civilian casualties and collateral damage tantamount to a war crime

[@Halinspark]

You get a like just for that choice of opening song. Great vid as well, though.

[@23rt2308u24tkhg]

Only thing that should have been mentioned was there was a horrific blizzard that followed the explosion which had a great impact

[@syahmikadira6832]

I remembered watching an episode on The Great War about the incident last year.It's still for me quite weird yet interesting for me that an incident 100's of KM away from the battlefield was still counted as "Wartime Casualty" if I'm not mistaken according to the channel.(Source:THE GREAT WAR - WEEK BY WEEK 100 YEARS LATER S4 • E49 ; Halifax Explosion - Peace in the East? | THE GREAT WAR Week 176 : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ22ZaehnMmMocU)

[@syahmikadira6832]

Also,ID think you would actually do this but hey I'll try as a suggestion,how about the Boxer Rebellion,AKA where 8/9 colonial nations + well Austria-Hungary decided to fight some...well a lot of angry Chinese locals & the Chinese authority.

[@jamesmcelwain342]

11:30 I always thought it was funny when old local newspapers report giant disasters like that like yeah no shit how could we miss it?

[@SirBeaumerdier]

Very nice video. Just one small thing that was a bit unnerving tho, the ship wasn't called the Mont Blonc, but the Mont Blanc (Like the highest peak in the Alps).

[@JTA1961]

Which is probably wher they found pieces of that ship🔥🚢🔥

[@yorkshirebikerbitsnbobs]

Wow! What an explosion..... Highly interesting video...

[@coenisgreat]

“The ships were expected to travel on the right, port side...” The right, left side?

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

The port side of the harbour, not the port sight of the ship.