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Wartime Explosions in Archangel, 1916-1917: Bakaritsais Burning Ekonomiia is !o" a Wastelan#

$eorge Bolotenko

%esearch !ote

Les 9 novembre 1916 et 13 janvier 1917, Bakaritsa et Ekonomiia, deuxavant-ports d'Arkhane! en "ussie nordi#ue, ont sou$$ert une %atastrophe

dans des in%idents s&par&s mais semb!ab!es de $aon in#ui&tante #uanddes navires %har&s de munitions ont exp!os&( )ans !es deux %as !esexp!osions initia!es ont %aus& d'autres d&tonations et in%endies $aisantrae au mi!ieu de di*aines de mi!!iers de tonnes de munitions sto%k&esdans !es $a%i!it&s portuaires( Les pertes humaines et !es dommaesmat&rie!s &taient sur !'&%he!!e de !'exp!osion %&!+bre d'un navire demunitions a!i$ax, .ouve!!e-/%osse, en d&%embre 1917, mais %esd&sastres russes sont prati#uement in%onnus( La pr&sente &tuderassemb!e !es &v&nements des deux d&sastres partir de sour%es%ontemporaines en !anue russe et des %omptes-rendus des dirieants et

des $on%tionnaires britanni#ues #ui &taient pr&sents(So far as I know, [wrote David Masters in 1935], there has never been a single line in

print concerning one of the greatest disasters of the war, the appalling disaster in

rchangel in the a!t!"n of 191#, which killed tho!sands of people$ %et we in

&ngland have never heard of it, so off the "ap is rchangel and so necessar' was it

at that ti"e to h!sh !p an'thing that was likel' to depress the spirit of the llies $$$ It

occ!rred too long ago and too far awa' for an'one to !nravel the "'ster'$1

(aptain )watkin*+illia"s, a ritish naval officer of the +hite Sea Station, was

in rchangel within a da' of the akaritsa e-plosion. he has written, /never before

probabl' has there been s!ch an e-plosion as this one in rchangel$ 0he death toll "!sthave n!"bered several tho!sands, altho!gh, for official p!rposes, the !ssian a!thorities

gave o!t the n!"ber to be onl' one h!ndred and thirt'$ +hatever it was, appro-i"atel'

thirt0 thousand tons of "!nitions had gone !p into the air2$ nother writer has observedthat the /few p!n' tons of high e-plosive which went !p at Silvertown [in the 4nited

ingdo"] on the 19th6an!ar', 1917 $$$ [were] $$$ a "ere cracker co"pared with the terrific

e-plosion at rchangel$23

1 /ID2 [David Masters],.e 2a!es o$ the ubmarine 4ar 8ondon: &'re and Spottiswoode,1935;, 15

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2he .orthern arinerLe marin du nord

(atastrophic, 'et little known to the o!tside world$ In its ti"e the e-plosion was

al"ost as little known thro!gho!t !ssia itself, save to the inhabitants of rchangel and

its hinterland$ 0he i"peratives of war*ti"e censorship precl!ded an' p!blic broadcasting

of the event$ nd then, on the heels of the war ca"e the two revol!tions of 1917,followed b' a "alevolent civil war, foreign interventions, the br!tal !sso*@olish war,

and socio*econo"ic and political !pheavals which visited !pon !ssian lands !nseen

s!ffering and r!in$ gainst the backdrop of these new horrors, incalc!labl' grander in

their sweep across !ssia and in the tall' of h!"an lives taken, the historical "e"or' of

the rchangel e-plosion receded, and faded awa'$ A I cannot pro"ise to bring back the

stor' of the rchangel e-plosion in all its a"plit!de, to !nravel its /"'steries2, as David

Masters p!ts it$ I can, however, offer far "ore infor"ation on the rchangel e-plosion

than was available in the "id*19Bs and 193Bs, when Masters and )watkin and /)I??2

wrote their works$ In doing so, I will in fact give 'o! the stor' of toe-plosions which

ripped apart o!tl'ing port districts of rchangel$ )iven the general dearth of knowledgeabo!t the", in so"e broad and general sense when people spoke of the rchangel

/e-plosion2, the' often conflated the two e-plosions into one C b!t there were two ver'

distinct catastrophes which took place in fairl' rapid s!ccession$ 0he first occ!rred at

akaritsa, five*to*si- kilo"etres !priver fro" rchangel centre. the second event!ated at&kono"iia, the cit's fore*port, located so"e twent'*five kilo"etres downriver$

0his paper will address both e-plosions$ ?or each e-plosion there will beco""entar' on the port and ship C "ore correctl' the ships C concerned, and on their

cargoes$ ?!rther, I will atte"pt to tease o!t of the evidence the anato"' of the

e-plosions, and present both what co!ld be called the /hard2 and the /i"pressionistic2

evidence on the nat!re and e-tent of these e-plosions$ 0hen will co"e a tall' of h!"an

lives lost and a description of destr!ction done, with so"e final closing co""ents$ 0his

paper strives towards a ver' si"ple end C to "ake these e-plosions known as historicalpheno"ena$ Secondar' so!rce "aterials in &nglish on these catastrophes are ver' few,

and also ver' sketch'$ In !ssian, so!rce "aterials are "ore ab!ndant, b!t also

occasionall' in conflict over ti"ing, seE!encing and severit' of events, and over details

of all sorts$ Moreover, !ssian "e"oir so!rces are at ti"es at odds with each other$

=ence the real i"port and p!rpose of this paper C adhering to the f!nda"ental von

ankian i"perative, to si"pl' fill in the glaring blanks, to paint in the large white spots

in western awareness of several signal events in !ssian histor', and /to tell it like it

was2 abo!t the tragedies at both akaritsa and &kono"iia$

0here will be no atte"pt at a /co"parison2 with the =alifa- e-plosion, and the

reasons for this will beco"e patentl' "anifest in the closing pages of this article$ !t "'

hope is that, precisel' beca!se of the =alifa- e-plosion, (anadians will find this paper of

interest$

a!thor, [19#];,155$

A $ Skriagin, /FGr'v' na Severnoi Dvine [&-plosions on the Horthern Dvina],2http:lib$r!s$ecb53A5read$

37

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4artime Exp!osions in Ar%hane!, 1916-1917

&' BA(A%&)*A: )he#aron $rie%en+

0he @ort and the Ship

0he "assive inflow of war cargo and "!nitions into rchangel cit' harbo!r

occasioned b' the ?irst +orld +ar threatened to overwhel" the e-isting port facilities$

=ence !ssias Ministr' of 0rade and (o""erce, with the participation of the Haval

Ministr', began to b!ild a co"ple- of wharves at akaritsa, abo!t five kilo"etres !pstrea"fro" rchangel proper, on the left 8west; bank of the Horthern Dvina, and had the"

operational for the 1915 navigation season$ =ere, on this bank, the wharves linked directl'

with the rchangel*Fologda ailwa' ter"in!s, thro!gh which war cargo "oved into the

heart of !ssia$ 0he port stretched along the river bank with a berthing line of "ore than

two kilo"etres, berths for B ships$ It was served b' floating and railed cranes, a shoreline

railwa', a fire station, and so on$ &ight covered storeho!ses were erected here with an area

of #,

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2he .orthern arinerLe marin du nord3

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Kne of !ssias largest transports, she was /a veritable floating arsenal$29 )iven her

dangero!s load, town a!thorities forbade her fro" docking at cit' centre wharf 8altho!gh

ine-plicabl' the' did allow her to drop anchor J!st off cit' harbo!r, right across fro" the

great cathedral, and stand there for al"ost a weekN;$ Kn 3 Kctober )riesen receivedinstr!ctions to go !priver to akaritsa, where she "ade fast at erth Ho$ B, the last in

line$1B

0he (argo

#aron $rie%ensargo

So!rce 0otal 0H0 S"okeless

@owder

lack

@owder

Melinite =$ &$

Shells

rtiller'

Detonators

iE!id

(hlorine

Shrapnel

Shells

@icric cid

Shoig! 3,7BB0 of

which

1,#BBe-plosive

3BB03BB0 1BB0 3B0 1BB,BBB #BBB

Melekhov 33

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acco"pan'ing chart on)riesens cargo has been asse"bled fro" vario!s so!rces$ +hatis "anifestl' evident when viewing the chart is the great degree to which so!rces differ

on)riesens load$ t the sa"e ti"e, despite the variations in detail, there is so"e general

over*all agree"ent abo!t the co"ponents of the ships cargo, and the proportions of thevario!s articles carried$ nd "ost so!rces co"e in at a fig!re of abo!t 1,#BB tons of

e-plosive "aterial$

0he nato"' of the &-plosion

' the "orning of # Kctober, 89 thHove"ber Hew St'le;, 7BB tons had been

!nloaded off)riesen, incl!ding BB tons of chlorine gas$ !t 1,#BB tons of e-plosivesre"ained in her holds, along with vario!s "etals and "achiner'$1 Kn that da' fift'

stevedores labo!red at !nloading the vessel. the' left the ship for l!nch at "id*da', and

went to the "ess barracks not far distant$ ll fo!r holds of the ship were left open and,

aside fro" a c!sto"s official and a sailor on watch, there was no on else aboard$13

/0he hands on the town hall clock showed 3 "in!tes short of 1:BB in the

afternoon when, fro" akaritsa*side, there so!nded a horrific e-plosion, s!ch as never

heard before on the shores of the river Dvina and, several seconds later C a second one,

1 0$I$ 0roshina, >e!ikaia voina((( ab0taia voina((( Arkhane!sk v od0 pervoi mirovoi voin0?191F-191 C [0he )reat +ar$$$0he ?orgotten +ar$$$rchangel D!ring the %ears of the

?irst +orld +ar 8191A*191

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not in the least an' less powerf!l than the first$21A0he ti"e and seE!encing of events as

set o!t above is attested b' (aptain @opes recollection of the e-plosion, as recorded later

b' David Masters$ 0he British 2ransport, @opes ship, was berthed so"e ships back in

line fro")riesen$ Standing at his desk b' an open port, @ope had started to do so"ewriting$ /It was l!nch ti"e,2 wrote Masters$ /(aptain @ope glanced at the clock, saw that

it was 1:55 and was thinking that in five "in!tes all the "en wo!ld be hard at it again,

when an appalling e-plosion occ!rred$ =e was fl!ng back across his roo"$ 0he ship

s!ddenl' beca"e a living thing, straining to get awa' fro" her "oorings$ nother

e-plosion followed, and another$215

@ope recalls a n!"ber of e-plosions d!ring the akaritsa catastrophe, and in fact,

there were several, as follows:

?irst e-plosion R 0his e-plosion act!all' consisted of two e-plosions in ver'

rapid s!ccession$ 0he first occ!rred in the bow of )riesen, where shells were stored$1#

point of interest: the few s!rviving witnesses fro" the i""ediate vicinit' of the freighter

said that /the portent of the e-plosion was a bang, s!ggestive of a h!nting rifle going

off$217 Several seconds later, a "!ch "ore terrific e-plosion1

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de"ise$ "assive pillar of s"oke reared !p into the sk', following the orange tong!es

of fla"e which strobed into the fir"a"ent$3 !t it is far "ore likel' that this detonation

"arked the fier' end ofEar! o$ Hor$ar, whose cargo of e-plosives was detonated as a

conseE!ence of)riesens e-plosion and s!bseE!ent wharf fires$ Hat!rall' the e-plosionof theEar!intensified the wharf fires !nderwa', and contrib!ted to an endless series ofdistinct and gro!ped e-plosions, as individ!al piles of "!nitions went !p$A

0he (annonade and +harf ?ires R nd then co""enced what severalco""entators call the /cannonade2 or /bo"bard"ent$2 ?ro" this ti"e onwards, i$e$ fro"

abo!t 1:A5 p" !ntil appro-i"atel' #:BB p" in the evening, e-plosions of shell and

cartridges stored in the wharf area did not cease$5 ccording to r"istead, of the

=!dsons a' (o"pan', /the fire spread with great rapidit', owing to the strong windthat was blowing, and the nat!re of the goods ca!sed a contin!o!s series of s"aller

e-plosions$2#

0roshina, >e!ikaia voina, 7A$3 /&?,2 ortic, 19$ Kne co""entator s!ggests that this was occasioned b' the e-plosion of

the electrical station$ More likel' it was e-plosives stored nearb' 8$ Farfolo"eev, /@a"iat o

hertvakh ne !vekovechena2[0he Me"or' of Sacrifices not ecogniGed], oriak evera[Sailor of the Horth], 5 ?ebr!ar' BB9, 3$;

A Skriagin, /FGr'v' na Severnoi Dvine$2

5 0roshina, >e!ikaia voina, 7A. /&?,2 ortic,19$# r"istead to ondon =ead Kffice, letter no$ 3, 1B Hove"ber 191#$

3

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!ssian sailor, @etr Ivanovich M!sikov, on the "inesweeper 0*17 that ca"e !p

fro" rchangel town to assist in fighting the fire, described the scene at akaritsa: /It

was a $$$ sea of fire and e-plosions witho!t end $$$ &ver'where, the th!ndering of shells,

and the chattering of "achine*g!n ro!nds$ ike shelled peas being po!red into a bastbasket $$$ =orror $$$ &ver' now and then, so"ething horrific boo"s o!t, lo!dl',

deafeningl' so$ t akaritsa there re"ains not a solitar' so!l$27

In this inferno, (aptain @ope "anaged to get his crew to safet'. i""ediatel'

after the first two rapid*s!ccession e-plosions of )riesen, he and his "en scra"bledal"ost half*a*"ile along the port railwa' track, awa' to the !pper end of the wharf$

0here the' sat, as

a long s!ccession of e-plosions [contin!ed] for ho!r after ho!r as d!"ps and ships

were e"broiled$ 0he sk', black with s"oke, was shot fro" ti"e to ti"e with great

b!rsts of fla"e$ &ver' now and then the' were driven to shelter fro" the rain of"etal that fell fro" the skies$ It was red hot and b!rned its wa' thro!gh wood and set

fire to ever'thing that it to!ched $$$ 0ho!sands of tons of e-plosives were aro!nd

the" in the ships and on the shore $$$ Shattering e-plosions deafened the"$ 0errified

!ssians began to r!n b', their clothing torn, so"e bleeding fro" wo!nds in head

and face$ big bearded fellow with an astrakhan cap on his head dashed past holding

a bab' in his ar"s while the blood fro" a wo!nd across his forehead flowed down on

the poor "ite$e!ikaia voina, 7A$3B /@oGhar nad akaritsei$231 r"istead to ondon =ead Kffice, letter no$ 3, 1B Hove"ber 191#$3 /&?,2 ortic, A$

33 0roshina, >e!ikaia voina, 73$3A Skriagin, /FGr'v' na Severnoi Dvine$2

3

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inland$35 portion of the stea" "achiner', thirt' tons in weight, was h!rled an eE!al

distance$3# 0wisted lengths of the ships plating were thrown as far as the railwa'

station$37 Kn the "orning following, (aptain @ope observed, /0he Baron )ri*en had

vanished. other vessels were all torn and twisted in the "ost a"aGing wa', while so"ewith little cargo in the" had escaped lightl'$23e!ikaia voina, 7!adimirAndriendko $rom a private oner(

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0he +harf rea !rns R fter this first great e-plosion, freE!ent detonations

so!nded all along the wharf, "!ch E!ieter than the one that had ter"inated Dhe!iuskinse-istence. this was the detonation of cases of artiller' shells and rifle cartridges stacked

along the railwa' that ran length of the wharf$ arracks, storeho!ses, sheds and ho"es,set afire b' fla"ing debris and e-ploding shell frag"ents, flared into fla"e$ s the fires

began to work their wa' thro!gh so"e of the 3

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and it was no less powerf!l than the first$9e!ikaia voina, 79. r"istead to =!dsons a' (o"pan' headE!arters, < 6an!ar'

1917$1B1 0roshina, >e!ikaia voina,

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0he losses were so staggering to the 0reas!r' that, in contrast to the akaritsa

e-plosion, the co""ission s!bseE!entl' str!ck to investigate the &kono"iia catastrophe

co!ld not even appro-i"ate their e-tent$ 0here was no official release of infor"ation to

the press, again in contrast to the akaritsa disaster$ 0he )endar"erie, responsible forcensorship, went hard to work. all "ail leaving rchangel with the least all!sion to the

catastrophe was re"oved$113

0he territor' of the little settle"ent, the port and the wharf 8the whole berthing

line; /had been transfor"ed into ash and recalled a "oonscape$211A/0he settle"ent had

t!rned into a wasteland$2115

0he I"pressionistic &vidence

0he &kono"iia e-plosion was readil' heard and felt in rchangel$ 0owards

1B:BB a$"$, /the so!nd of a "assive e-plosion rolled over the town, ho!ses shook, with aringing so!nd glass panes blew o!t of window fra"es and doors sw!ng open of their own

accord as the' do in fair' tales$211# r"istead, who wrote that the first e-plosion was at

9:15 a$"$, noted that it was /so violent that in spite of the distance between here and

&cono"' 8abo!t 1# "iles;, the ho!ses in rchangel shook fro" top to botto" as fro" an

earthE!ake, windows were shattered, and "an' wo"en fainted fro" fright$2117

Several of the "aJor co""entators on the &kono"iia e-plosion reference the

rich e'ewitness acco!nt left behind b' le-ander ochek, alread' "entioned above: he

was p!rser and second officer onMursk, a large freighter of the !ssian Fol!nteer ?leetwhich had co"e in before Dhe!iuskin$ Serio!sl' da"aged b' a )er"an "ine in the)orlo, the constricted entrance to of the +hite Sea, the Murskwas in the floating dock at&kono"iia !ndergoing repairs$ ochek was aboard Mursk on 13 6an!ar', abo!t 5BB"etres fro" Dhe!iuskin$11

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ship leaped fro" the keel blocks and all the officers were thrown fro" their chairs$

/+hen I dashed o!t onto the spar deck, fro" where one co!ld see all of &kono"iia $$$ a

horrific pict!re chilled the heart$ 0here, where emen Dhe!iuskinhad stood, a dark "ass

of black s"oke rose slowl' into the sk', and in lie! of snow the earth, t!rned over b' thee-plosion, showed black, and fro" it st!ck o!t scattered pieces of the ship$2 1B

r"istead, on his dash to &kono"iia, had passed a contin!o!s procession oflabo!rers and soldiers, "an' of the" badl' wo!nded and bleeding, witho!t transport,

tra"ping to rchangel$ +hen he reached &kono"iia, aro!nd 1:BB p$"$, /a big fire was

raging, and e-plosions of greater or lesser violence were occ!rring witho!t interr!ption$2

s he walked along along the E!a's, practicall' all was deserted, all the work"en had

fled and the crews had left their ships$11

d"iral @osokhov, also r!shing !p to &kono"iia fro" rchangel as r"istead

had done, left the following record:approaching &kono"iia fro" the so!th, I saw a s"all a"o!nt of s"oke on "' left,

this was the horse stalls and sheds on theMursk, b!rning$ 0o "' right R a large fire.fro" there ca"e freE!ent e-plosions of vario!s force and er!ptions of fla"e

"anifested the"selves$ )oing f!rther, I saw the half*r!ined barracks deserted b'

their inhabitants$ I saw the bod' of a worker killed b' a brick which had flown o!t of

a stove$ +orkers and "ilitia"en had all fled, 1B*15 officers ca"e !p to "e, "an' of

the" wo!nded$ l"ost ceaseless e-plosions and the whistle of shells ca"e fro" the

eastern side of the region, where e-plosive articles were concentrated$1

egardingBa0ropea, ochek has the following to sa'$ t several "in!tes before1:BB p$"$ he and the first officer ofBa0ropeawere aboardMursk, the onl' ship left withstea" in her boilers. the wo!nded fro" the Dhe!iuskindetonation were gathered there,and the officers tended to the"$ 0he' went o!t onto the spar deck and watchedBa0ropeathro!gh binoc!lars$ In her "iddle hold a fire b!rned, growing larger and larger, and

s"oke belched into the froGen sk'$

&-actl' at 1:BB p" we were blinded b' a searing fla"e$ It, in the for" of a gigantic

sphere, flashed !p overBa0ropea$ fter a second or two there followed a horrificall'frightf!l e-plosion, no less powerf!l than the e-plosion of the emen Dhe!iuskin( 0heshock wave knocked !s fro" o!r feet and propelled !s abo!t 1B "etres fro" where

we had been standing$ K!rMurskagain leaped fro" the keel blocks of the dock, andher riveted plating creaked$ 0o this da' I cannot !nderstand wh' o!r ship did not keel

over onto the wall of the floating dock$13

=!"an osses

ccording to r"istead, all save the captain and first officer of Dhe!iuskin,

1B Skriagin, /FGr'v' na Severnoi Dvine$211 r"istead to =!dsons a' (o"pan' headE!arters, < 6an!ar' 1917$

1 0roshina,>e!ikaia voina, 79*

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whod left that "orning to report on their ships arrival to rchangel, were killed$ 1AKne

co""entator records that on Ba0ropea the whole crew, sheltering fro" the fire in theforecastle, died$15 ochek agrees$ s he reco!nts it, the Ba0ropeas first officer tried to

get his "en to abandon ship, b!t the' ref!sed, perhaps beca!se it see"ed that on the onehand the deck of theBa0ropea,!nder fire fro" the e-ploding shells on the shore, was toodangero!s to traverse, and on the other the ice alongside on the riverside was broken !p

b' the e-plosion of the emen Dhe!iuskin and be'ond bo!nds$ @erhaps !lti"atel' thecrew fo!nd itself in a trap between a cannonade of !npredictable shell fire on the wharf

side, and freeGing water strewn with broken ice to seaside, 1#and for these reasons chose

to sta' p!t$ r"istead, however, reports "an' fewer fatalities in Ba0ropea: si- officers8all na"ed;, eight (hina"en 8none na"ed;, as well as a ?rench sergeant$ ll the rest of

the crew s!rvived, with ver' slight inJ!ries$17

0h!s it wo!ld see", !pon first consideration, that h!"an losses weres!bstantiall' less at &kono"iia than at akaritsa$ If that was indeed the case, it was not

the res!lt of safet' "eas!res !ndertaken b' "ilitar' and civilian a!thorities, b!t beca!se,

on hearing the first alar" 8so!nding of the fire bell;, the locals had fled in all directions

R across the !Gnechikha, into the forests, and toward rchangel$ /@anic had set the

pace of the ball$21

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i!ts, the co""andant at &kono"iia, placed the n!"ber of port workers and officials at

,BBB$ 0his n!"ber does not incl!de wo"en and children, the aged, inhabitants of

nearb' villages, workers and soldiers of the &kono"iia*M!di!g railwa' branch, as well

as "e"bers of the berthed ships crews$ /eca!se of this,2 according to a recentreassess"ent, /all given fig!res regarding the n!"ber of killed, "issing witho!t trace and

wo!nded are relative and do not reflect the tr!e losses$213A

0hese assess"ents highlight the !tter specio!sness of the fig!res reported b'

d"iral $ orvin, then in charge of rchangel and its "ariti"e region, to the Haval

Ministr' on 1# 6an!ar': two officers, one official, ninet'*nine lesser ranks, eight

foreigners, 1#5 workers, twent' wo"en, eighteen !riats, nineteen children R all onl'wo!nded$ Ho deaths. onl' 3AA wo!ndedN 0hat was all, fro" the detonation of two

"!nitions ships cargoes and h!ndreds of barrels of "elinite on the wharves, in three

"assive e-plosion that rained fla"ing debris over ever'thing within a one*and*one*half

kilo"etre radi!s, and set raging fires that had to be fo!ght for ten da'sN 135

/0he' b!ried the dead h!rriedl', co!nting the", b!t never co!ld deter"ine the

tall' of the losses fro" the e-plosions of the ships,2 observes one co""entator$ ?ro" the

left bank of the port area alone, the' b!ried #B7 identified corpses$ 13# In s!", the fig!res

of dead, wo!nded and "issing witho!t trace var' wildl' R and it is a s!re thing to sa'

that the' will never be deter"ined with even pro-i"ate e-actit!de$

&&&' .0serations

I offer so"e closing observations, which in the"selves s!ggest wh' no

concl!sion as s!ch is 'et possible on the s!bJect of the akaritsa and &kono"iiacatastrophes$ I have so!ght to reconstr!ct and present the anato"ies of both rchangel

e-plosions. the so!rces are not alwa's clear and often conflict, so it "a' be that f!rther

research will adJ!st what this paper has presented$ !t so"e things can be said with

certaint', and the' follow$

1$ oth theBaron )riesenand the emen Dhe!iuskinwere "!nitions ships. andboth blew !p in o!tl'ing ports of rchangel, not in rchangel (it' =arbo!r proper$

$ oth still had s!bstantial E!antities of e-plosives aboard when the' detonated$

ll so!rces see" to s!ggest that it was less that ,BBB tons aboard each$

3$ oth )riesen and Dhe!iuskinhad death partners, ill*fated twin stars$ +ith)riesenit wasEar! o$ Hor$arand with Dhe!iuskinit wasBa0ropea$

A$ In both cases, it see"s fro" the so!rces that the twinned death ship had far

"ore e-plosive on board than their partner ship, which e-ploded first$

5$ oth pri"ar' e-plosions not onl' ignited their twin, b!t also set off "assive

wharf and port fires, which did inesti"able da"age not onl' to wharves and other port

facilities and installations, b!t also to other ships in the vicinit'$

13A Se"in, /Hagasaki na &kono"ii,2 #A$

135 Ibid$, #5$13# Ibid$

ABA

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#$ +ith both e-plosions, the fires raged over large areas of the port$ 0he

&kono"iia fire was, !lti"atel', far "ore destr!ctive, effectivel' ending the ports

serviceabilit' in an' "anner whatsoever$

7$ +ith both catastrophes, the loss of lives was never effectivel' established, and inall probabilit' the n!"bers reached at least several tho!sand at akaritsa, and probabl' that

"an' at &kono"iia as well$

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)he A#mirals /e#al 2oun#ation

2on#ation #e la m3#aille #es Amiraux

0he d"irals Medal ?o!ndation e-ists to provide p!blic recognition to the

significant personal contrib!tions of individ!als to (anadian "ariti"e affairs$ rich

"ariti"e heritage representing the contrib!tions and achieve"ents of "an' pioneers over the

'ears reflects the geographical fact that (anada has the longest coastline of an' nation in the

world and vast areas of "ariti"e interest$

+e (anadians are increasingl' aware that a large portion of o!r prosperit' ste"s

fro" o!r abilit' to !se the oceans to engage in international trade and to harvest o!r reso!rces

at sea, be the' "inerals, fish or other "arine assets$ ?or these reasons, (anadians have been

prepared to protect national "ariti"e interests both in ti"es of peace and ti"es of war$

K!r "ariti"e heritage now benefits fro" the contrib!tions of a new generation of(anadians who displa' initiative and skill in advancing "ariti"e affairs, operations and

research$ 0heir o!tstanding achieve"ents whether thro!gh science, technolog', acade"ic

st!dies or the application of practical "ariti"e skills are worth' of special recognition$

0he d"irals Medal 8established in 19

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