The explosion took place on the water surface only 2 days before the Helgeland explosion on April 16, 1947. In another corner of the world, there was an explosion that, beyond doubt, nobody had planned.
Around 800 in the morning of the day, a port in Texas City, US, accepted a French vessel, the SS Grand Camp, formerly known as the SS Benjamin R. Curtis after the renewed 19th-century judge. He became famous for fighting for African-American rights and being ready to go to any length for justice.
Ironically, the incident on the vessel that bears the US’’s name sparked a prominent event in the history of American jurisprudence—the first-class action against the US government. Did the judge’s ghost decide to fight for justice even after death?
The fault of some people was eventually proven because, as soon as SS Grand Camp entered port, the longshoreman noticed a smoke plume in one of the ship’s holds, and they reported it to the captain, who ordered that no water be used to extinguish the fire so as not to destroy the cargo. Instead, he suggested filling the holes with steam.
The captain wanted to raise the humidity to smother the fire; it might have even worked if the grand camp hadn’t been jam-packed with explosive fertilizer. That day, the vessel had over 2000 tons of ammonium nitrate on board. This particular explosive process is mixed with clay, petroleum, rosin, and paraffin.
After the captain gave the order, around 9:00 am the following morning, a powerful explosion shook the Texas city port. The shock wave of almost 4 and 1/2 meters leveled almost a thousand buildings at once and shattered windows 16 away. At the same time, Grand Comp’s 2-ton anchor was hurled over 21/2 kilometers away, but that was just the beginning.
Apart from the dangerous fertilizer, the ship’s cargo also contained bales of twine, peanut engineering equipment, and even small arms ammunition. In other words, the cargo ship was like a giant Molotov cocktail. It causes the explosion of several other vessels in port, as well as an oil refinery and some chemical reservoirs.
345 of the port workers were burned alive. According to the information, the total number of victims, including exploded ship’s cruises, was 581, but those are the only people who were identified. But it took a lot more than the identified ones.
ARNOLD