If you allow it, Google Analytics sets two cookies so we can see how many people visit and which entries they read. No ads, nothing sold. If you're under 18, please ask a parent or guardian first. You can change your mind any time under Cookie settings at the bottom of every page. Privacy notice
On the morning of 6 December 1917, a burning munitions ship exploded in Halifax harbour: the largest human-made explosion of its time. The Short follows Frank, a fictional glazier in the Richmond district, from the hour the ship came in to the moment the blast reached his shop window. This is the history behind it.
Relief from Boston that included glaziers and window glass.46
A Christmas tree sent to Boston every year in thanks.7
The day, hour by hour
6 December · 7:30 am
A ship with no flag
The French freighter Mont-Blanc, loaded with TNT, picric acid, guncotton and benzol, got under way to enter the harbour. In wartime she flew no red flag to warn of her cargo, for fear of U-boats and saboteurs.12
Explosives are sailing into the harbour. The ship flies no warning flag.
6 December · morning
Richmond at work
Richmond, Halifax's North End, was a district of wooden houses, shops, rail yards and piers along the Narrows.1
FRANK
My glass all comes from Boston. Best panes in Halifax!
About 8:45 am
Fire at Pier 6
Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian ship Imo in the Narrows. Benzol on her deck caught fire, her crew abandoned ship, and the burning ship drifted onto Pier 6. Crowds gathered in the streets and at windows to watch, and the fire engine Patricia was sent to the pier.14
ELSIE
Papa, a ship's on fire by Pier 6! Everyone's watching!
9:04:35 am
The explosion
Mont-Blanc exploded with the force of about 2.9 kilotons of TNT. Nearly everything within 800 metres was flattened, a wave swept the shores, and windows shattered across the city; hundreds of people were blinded by flying glass.13
HALIFAX6 DEC 1917 09:04
That morning
Richmond destroyed
Every building within 2.6 km was destroyed or badly damaged. Near Pier 6, train dispatcher Vince Coleman stayed at his post to telegraph a warning to incoming trains, and was killed. Across the harbour, the Mi'kmaq settlement at Turtle Grove was obliterated and never rebuilt.1
Every building within 2.6 km was destroyed or badly damaged.
7 December onward
Blizzard and relief
A blizzard dropped about 41 cm of snow the next day. Boston's first relief train had left about 10 pm on 6 December with doctors, nurses and supplies; the help that followed included glaziers and window glass, and a steamship with glass for more than 1,000 houses.1546
Boston sent doctors, nurses, and glaziers with window glass.
Boston sent doctors, nurses, and glaziers with window glass.
Nova Scotia still sends Boston a Christmas tree every year.
Frank is fictional. The help from Boston is real.
Every line, checked
Each line from the Short that makes a historical claim, beside what the record says.
On screen · opening
Explosives are sailing into the harbour. The ship flies no warning flag.
The record
Mont-Blanc carried high explosives and flew no red warning flag, a practice suspended in wartime.21
High
On screen · life
FRANK
My glass all comes from Boston. Best panes in Halifax!
The record
Frank and his Boston glass are our invention. Massachusetts did send glaziers and window glass after the explosion.46
High
On screen · the omen
ELSIE
Papa, a ship's on fire by Pier 6! Everyone's watching!
The record
The burning ship drifted onto Pier 6, and crowds gathered to watch.14
High
On screen · shrug-off
FRANK
Fire brigade's on its way. Let's watch from the window.
The record
Many people watched from their windows, which left them exposed to flying glass; the fire engine Patricia was sent to the pier.1 His words are our invention.
High
On screen · the event
HALIFAX6 DEC 1917 09:04
The record
The explosion came at 9:04:35 am; a 1917 account says five minutes past nine.13
High
On screen · break
ELSIE
Papa! Every window is gone!
The record
"Not a window remained anywhere intact", a 1917 Halifax account says.3
High
On screen · chaos
Every building within 2.6 km was destroyed or badly damaged.
The record
Every building within 2.6 km was destroyed or badly damaged, over 12,000 in all.1
High
On screen · aftermath
Nearly 2,000 people died. Next day, a blizzard buried the city.
The record
The Remembrance Book confirms at least 1,782 dead; the Province of Nova Scotia says nearly 2,000. A blizzard of about 41 cm hit the next day.17
Medium
On screen · fact card
Boston sent doctors, nurses, and glaziers with window glass.
The record
Boston's relief brought doctors and nurses, and, by two accounts, glaziers with window glass and putty.546
High
On screen · fact card
Nova Scotia still sends Boston a Christmas tree every year.
The record
Nova Scotia sends Boston a Christmas tree every year; the first went in 1918 and the tradition has run every year since 1971.71
High
Open question
Open question
Who was to blame?
The first inquiry, in 1918, blamed Mont-Blanc's captain and pilot. On appeal, the courts found both ships at fault.12
Mont-Blanc's missing warning flag, the narrow channel and a dispute over which side each ship should pass on all played a part. Historians still weigh them differently.2
Medium
Think about it
People went to their windows to watch a fire. Why do crowds gather at danger, and what would have warned them away?
Mont-Blanc flew no warning flag to stay safe from U-boats. How do you weigh secrecy in wartime against warning the people nearby?
Boston sent doctors, nurses and glaziers. Why might window glass matter so much in a Canadian December?
A Christmas tree has gone to Boston every year since 1971. What makes a thank-you last more than a century?
Glossary
Glazier
A tradesperson who cuts and fits glass into windows.
Munitions ship
A ship carrying explosives and ammunition, in this case for the war in Europe.
The Narrows
The tight channel joining Halifax's outer harbour to Bedford Basin.
Benzol
A flammable fuel made from coal tar; barrels of it on Mont-Blanc's deck caught fire first.
Kiloton
The energy of a thousand tonnes of TNT.
Pier 6
The wharf at Richmond where the burning ship came to rest.
Frank
Elsie
ELSIE
HALIFAX6 DEC 1917 09:04
