View source for 1944 Bombay explosion

{{Short description|1944 explosion of a munitions-filled ship in Victoria Dock, Bombay (now Mumbai), India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox event
| title       = Bombay explosion
| image       = Bombay-Docks-aftermath1.png
| caption     = Smoke billowing out of the harbour
| date        = 14 April 1944
| time        = 16:15 IST (10:45 UTC)
| place       = Victoria Dock, Bombay, [[British Raj|British India]]
| coordinates = {{coord|18.9527772|N|72.8449774|E|type:event_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| cause       = ship fire
| casualties1 = 800+ dead
| casualties2 = 3,000 injured
}}
The '''Bombay explosion''' (or Bombay docks explosion) occurred on 14 April 1944, in the Victoria Dock of Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) when the freighter [[SS Fort Stikine|SS ''Fort Stikine'']], carrying a mixed cargo of cotton bales, gold, and ammunition including around 1,400 tons of explosives, caught fire and was destroyed in two giant blasts, scattering debris, sinking surrounding ships and setting fire to the area, killing around 800 to 1,300 people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/explosion-on-cargo-ship-rocks-bombay-india|title=Explosion on cargo ship rocks Bombay, India – Apr 14, 1944|website=History.com |access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref> Some 80,000 people were made homeless<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33105898|title=Has India's contribution to WW2 been ignored? – BBC News|website=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5tuzVvDSBSgC&pg=PA233&dq=SS+Fort+Stikine&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0AUPUrqWBIn7rAfxhoHgAQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=SS%20Fort%20Stikine&f=false Bombay Explosion] A Corporal's War: World War II Adventures of a Royal Engineer Page 233</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hZjNWaIm_eUC&pg=PA139&dq=SS+Fort+Stikine&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XwcPUt-_BMb9rAejioHYDw&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=SS%20Fort%20Stikine&f=false The Day It Rained Gold Bricks and a Horse Ran Headless] Bombay, Meri Jaan: Writings on Mumbai Page 138</ref> and 71 firemen lost their lives in the aftermath.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Thats-how-Mumbais-fire-brigade-Rolls/articleshow/51354019.cms|title=That's how Mumbai's fire brigade Rolls|website=Mumbai Mirror|access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref>

==Vessel, the voyage and cargo==
[[Image:SS Fort Stikine.png|thumb|SS ''Fort Stikine'']]
The {{SS|Fort Stikine}} was a 7,142 [[gross register ton]] freighter built in 1942 in [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia|Prince Rupert]], British Columbia, under a lend-lease agreement, and was named after [[Fort Stikine]], a former outpost of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] located at what is now [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]], Alaska.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Sailing from [[Birkenhead]] on 24 February, via [[Gibraltar]], [[Port Said]] and [[Karachi]], she arrived at Bombay on 12 April 1944.  Her cargo included 1,395 tons of explosives including 238 tons of sensitive "A" [[explosives]], [[torpedoes]], [[Naval mine|mines]], shells, and [[munitions]].  She also carried [[Supermarine Spitfire]] fighter aircraft, raw [[cotton]] bales, barrels of [[Petroleum|oil]], [[timber]], scrap [[iron]] and approximately £890,000 of [[gold bullion]] in bars in 31 crates.<ref name=rocked>{{cite news | last =Times News Network |  title =When Bombay docks rocked | date =11 April 2004 | url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-04-11/mumbai/28331064_1_cargo-vessel-explosive-cargo-victoria-dock | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130103083744/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-04-11/mumbai/28331064_1_cargo-vessel-explosive-cargo-victoria-dock | url-status = dead | archive-date = 3 January 2013 | newspaper =[[The Times of India]] |access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>  The 87,000 bales of cotton and lubricating oil were loaded at Karachi and the ship's captain, Alexander James Naismith, recorded his protest about such a "mixture" of cargo.<ref name=rocked/>  The transportation of cotton through the sea route was inevitable for the merchants, as transporting cotton by rail from Punjab and Sindh to Bombay was banned at that time.<ref name="Ennis, John">[[#Ennis, John|Ennis, John]].p.25</ref>  Naismith, who lost his life in the explosion, described the cargo as "just about everything that will either burn or blow up."<ref name=rocked/>  The vessel was still awaiting unloading on 12 April, after forty-eight hours of berthing.<ref name=rocked/>

==Incident==
[[File:Bombay-Docks-explosion-1.png|thumb|People running for safety after the explosion]]
In the mid-afternoon around 14:00, the crew were alerted to a fire onboard burning somewhere in the No. 2 hold.  The crew, dockside fire teams and fireboats were unable to extinguish the conflagration, despite pumping over 900 tons of water into the ship, nor were they able to find the source due to the dense smoke.  The water was boiling all over the ship, due to heat generated by the fire.<ref name=navy/>

At 15:50 the order to abandon ship was given, and sixteen minutes later there was a great explosion, cutting the ship in two and breaking windows over {{convert|12|km|mi|abbr=on}} away. This and a later second explosion were powerful enough to be recorded by seismographs at the [[Colaba Observatory]] in the city. Sensors recorded that the earth trembled at [[Shimla]],<ref>[[#Ennis, John|Ennis, John]].p.84</ref> a city over 1,700&nbsp;km away.  The shower of burning material set fire to slums in the area.  Around {{convert|2|km2|mi2}} were set ablaze in an {{convert|800|m|yd|abbr=on}} arc around the ship.  Eleven neighbouring vessels had been sunk or were sinking, and the emergency personnel at the site suffered heavy losses.  Attempts to fight the fire were dealt a further blow when the second explosion from the ship swept the area at 16:34.  Burning cotton bales fell from the sky on docked ships, the dock yard, and slum areas outside the harbour.  The sound of explosions was heard as far as {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} away.<ref name=life>{{cite magazine|title=War Explodes into Bombay|pages=38–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bk8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38|magazine=LIFE|date=22 May 1944}}</ref> Some of the most developed and economically important parts of Bombay were wiped out by the blast and resulting fire.<ref name=life/>

===News===
The details of the explosions and losses were first reported to the outside world by Radio Saigon, a Japanese-controlled radio which gave a detailed report of the incident on 15 April 1944.<ref name=time>{{cite magazine|title=India: Fire in Bombay|url-access=subscription|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796610,00.html|access-date=16 September 2012|magazine=Time Magazine|date=22 May 1944}}</ref>  British-Indian wartime censorship permitted news reporters to send the reports only in the second week of May 1944.<ref name=time/> ''Time Magazine'' published the story as late as 22 May 1944 and still it was news to the outside world.<ref name=time/>  A movie depicting the explosions and aftermath, made by Indian cinematographer Sudhish Ghatak, was confiscated by military officers<ref name=rocked/> although parts of it were shown to the public as a newsreel at a later date.<ref name=rocked/>

===Loss===
[[Image:Bombay-Docks-aftermath3.png|thumb|Aftermath of the explosion at the harbour]]
[[Image:1944 Bombay harbour explosion propeller piece.jpg|thumb|A piece of propeller that landed in St. Xaviers High School, about {{convert|5|km|0|abbr=on}} from the docks.]]

The total number of lives lost in the explosion is estimated at more than 800, some estimates put the figure around 1,300.<ref name=history>{{cite news |title=Explosion on Corgo ship rocks Bombay, India |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/explosion-on-cargo-ship-rocks-bombay-india |publisher=History.com |access-date=15 September 2012 }}</ref>  More than 500 civilians lost their lives, many of them residing in adjoining slum areas, but as it was wartime, information about the full extent of the damage was partially censored.<ref name=rocked/> The results of the explosion are summarised as follows:
* Two hundred thirty-one people killed were attached to various dock services including fire brigade and dock employees.<ref name=navy>{{cite web|title=Explosion in Bombay|url=http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/bomEx.html|publisher=merchantnavyofficers.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204060500/http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/bomEx.html|archive-date=2012-02-04}}</ref>
* Of the above figure, 66 were firemen<ref name=tribute/>
* More than 500 civilians were killed<ref name=navy/>
* Some estimates put total deaths up to 1,300<ref name=history/>
* More than 2,500 were injured, including civilians<ref name=navy/>
* Thirteen ships were lost<ref name=navy/> and some other ships heavily or partially damaged
* Out of above, three Royal Indian Navy ships lost<ref name="aus">{{cite web|title=On this day:1944|url=https://www.navyhistory.org.au/category/navy-day-by-day/1944/page/17/|publisher=Naval Historical Society of Australia|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>
* Thirty-one wooden crates, each containing four gold bars, each gold bar weighing 800 Troy ounces or almost 25&nbsp;kg.<ref name=navy/> (almost all since recovered)
* More than 50,000 tonnes of shipping destroyed and another 50,000 tonnes of shipping damaged<ref name=navy/>
* Loss of more than 50,000 tonnes of food grains, including rice, which gave rise to black marketing of food grains afterwards.<ref name=rocked/>

==Salvage==
As part of the salvage operation, [[sub-lieutenant]] Ken Jackson, [[Royal Naval Reserve|RNVR]] was seconded to the Indian government to establish the pumping operation.  He and [[chief petty officer]] Charles Brazier arrived in Bombay on 7 May 1944.  Over a period of three months, many ships were salvaged.  The de-watering operation took three months to complete, after which Jackson and Brazier returned to their base in Colombo. Jackson remained in the Far East for another two years, conducting further salvage work.  For their efforts with the pumping operation, both men were rewarded: Brazier was awarded the MBE, and Jackson received an accelerated promotion.  An Australian minesweeper, [[HMAS Gawler (J188)|HMAS ''Gawler'']], landed working parties on 21 June 1944, to assist in the restoration of the port.<ref name="aus"/>

==Aftermath==
It took three days to bring the fire under control, and later, 8,000 men toiled for seven months to remove around 500,000 tons of debris and bring the docks back into action.

The inquiry into the explosion identified the cotton bales as probably being the seat of the fire.  It was critical of several errors:
* storing the cotton below the munitions,
* not displaying the red flag [[International maritime signal flags|(B flag)]] required to indicate a "dangerous cargo on board",
* delaying unloading the explosives,
* not using steam injectors to contain the fire, and
* a delay in alerting the local fire brigade.<ref>''The Times'', Tuesday, 12 September 1944; pg. 3; Issue 49956; col E</ref>

Many families lost all their belongings and were left with just the clothes on their backs. Thousands became destitute. It was estimated that about 6,000 firms were affected and 50,000 lost their jobs.<ref name=rocked/>  The government took full responsibility for the disaster and monetary compensation was paid to citizens who made a claim for loss or damage to property.
[[File:Mumbai Firefighters Memorial.jpg|thumb|upright|The memorial erected outside Mumbai Fire Brigade Headquarters]]
During periodical dredging operations to maintain the depth of the docking bays, many intact gold bars have been found, some as late as February 2011, and returned to the government.  A live shell weighing 45&nbsp;kg (100&nbsp;lb) was also found in October 2011.<ref name=mirror>{{cite news|last=Tiwary|first=Deeptiman|title=Live, 45-kg shell dredged from WW-II ship's ruins|url=http://mumbaimirror.com/article/15/20111024201110240334556615f57c7a8/Live-45kg-shell-dredged-from-WWII-ship%E2%80%99s-ruins.html|access-date=1 March 2016|newspaper=Mumbai Mirror|date=24 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230054616/http://mumbaimirror.com/article/15/20111024201110240334556615f57c7a8/Live-45kg-shell-dredged-from-WWII-ship%E2%80%99s-ruins.html |archive-date=30 December 2011 }}</ref>  The [[Mumbai Fire Brigade]]'s headquarters at [[Byculla]] has a memorial to the fire fighters who died.  National Fire Safety Week is observed across India<ref name="nfsw">{{Cite web|title=Fire Safety Week |url=http://www.nsc.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=69 |date=17 February 2014 |work=[[National Safety Council (India)]] |access-date=28 November 2014}}</ref> from 14 to 21 April, in memory of the 66 firemen who died in this explosion.<ref name=tribute>{{cite news|title=Tributes paid to firemen|date=15 April 2011|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/15/stories/2011041551180200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420133715/http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/15/stories/2011041551180200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 April 2011|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>

===Ships lost or severely damaged===
Apart from ''Fort Stikine'', the following vessels were sunk or severely damaged.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Ship
! Flag or operator
! Notes
|-
| {{SS|Baroda||2}}
| {{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| ''Baroda'' was a {{GRT|3,172}} cargo liner owned by the [[British India Steam Navigation Company]].<ref name=Baroda>{{cite web |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=1621|title= SS Baroda |publisher=Clydeships |access-date=5 November 2019}}</ref> The vessel was burnt out.<ref name=PB74>{{cite web |url=http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/misc/index.html?yy.php?convoy=PB.74!~miscmain |title=Convoy PB.74 |publisher=Convoyweb |access-date=15 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{HMHS|Chantilly|63|6}}
| {{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| ''Chantilly'' was a {{GRT|10,017}} [[hospital ship]] that was formerly a French passenger ship. She was repaired and was returned to her French owners after the war.<ref name=Chantilly>{{cite web |url=http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/02_pages/c/chantilly_1923_data.htm |title=HMHS Chantilly (1941) |publisher=Maritime Quest |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{HMIS|El Hind|F120|6}}
| {{navy|British India|}}
| ''El Hind'' was a {{GRT|5,319}} passenger ship used by [[The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd.]] for the conveyance of pilgrims.<br>She had been requisitioned by the [[Royal Indian Navy]] as a [[Landing ship, infantry|Landing Ship Infantry (Large)]]. She caught fire and sank.<ref name=EH>{{cite web |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=10960 |title= SS El Hind |publisher=Clydeships |access-date=5 November 2019}}</ref><ref name=EH2>{{cite web |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/13447.html |title=Landing Ship Infantry HMIS El Hind |publisher=Uboat |access-date=5 November 2019 }}</ref>
|-
|-
| {{SS|Empire Indus||2}}
| {{flagu|United Kingdom|civil}}
| ''Empire Indus'' was a {{GRT|5,155}} cargo ship. She was severely damaged by the explosion but was repaired, returning to service in November 1945.<ref name=MandS>{{cite book | first = and Sawyer, L A| last = Mitchell, W H | year = 1995| title = The Empire Ships| page =not cited  | publisher = Lloyd's of London Press Ltd| location = London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong|isbn=1-85044-275-4 }}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Fort Crevier||2}}
| {{flagu|United Kingdom|civil}}
| ''Fort Crevier'' was a {{GRT|7,142}} [[Fort ship]]. She was burnt out and declared a [[constructive total loss]]. The vessel was used as a [[Hulk (ship)|hulk]] until 1948, when she was scrapped.<ref name=PB74/><ref name=FortA>{{cite web |url=http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/FortA.html |title=Fort Ships A – J |publisher=Mariners |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Generaal van der Heyden||2}}
| {{flag|Netherlands}}
| ''Generaal van der Heyden'' was a {{GRT|1,213}} cargo ship of the [[Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij]]. Caught fire and sank, loss of 15 of crew.<ref name=KPM>{{cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/kpm.shtml |title=Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij 1888–1967 |publisher=The Ships List |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Generaal van Sweiten||2}}
| {{flagu|Netherlands}}
| ''Generaal van Sweiten'' was a {{GRT|1,300}} cargo ship of the Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij. Caught fire and sank, loss of 2 crew.<ref name=KPM/>
|-
| {{SS|Graciosa||2}}
| {{flag|Norway}}
| ''Graciosa'' was a {{GRT|1,173}} cargo ship owned by Skibs A/S Fjeld and operated under the management of Hans Kiær & Co. She was severely damaged and was sold for scrap in July 1944.<ref name=Graciosa>{{cite web |url=http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/graciosa.html |title=D/S Graciosa |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Iran|1919|2}}
| {{flag|Panama}}
| ''Iran'' was a {{GRT|5,677}} Standard World War I cargo ship operated by the Iran Steamship Company under the management of Wallem & Co. Ltd. She was severely damaged and was scrapped.<ref name=Iran>{{cite web |url=http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/W-Ships/waikawa1919.html |title=Waikawa |publisher=Tynebuilt |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Jalapadma|1926|2}}
| {{flagu|United Kingdom|civil}}
| ''Jalapadma'' was a {{GRT|3,857}} cargo ship of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company. Pushed on shore, was scrapped.<ref name=Scindia>{{cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/scindia.shtml |title=Scindia Steam Navigation Co. |publisher=The Ships List |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Kingyuan||2}}
| {{flagu|United Kingdom|civil}}
| ''Kingyuan'' was a {{GRT|2,653}} cargo ship of the [[China Navigation Company]]. Caught fire and sank.<ref name=Lost/>
|-
| {{HMS|LCP 323}}
| {{flagicon|UK|naval}} Royal Navy
| The [[landing craft]] was sunk.<ref name=seekrieg194404>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/44-04.htm |title=Seekrieg 1944, April |access-date=7 August 2015 |last=Rohwer |first=Jürgen |author-link=Jürgen Rohwer |author2=Gerhard Hümmelchen  |work=Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart |language=de }}</ref>
|-
| {{HMS|LCP 866}}
| {{flagicon|UK|naval}} Royal Navy
| The landing craft  was sunk.<ref name=seekrieg194404/>
|-
| {{SS|Norse Trader||2}}
| {{flagu|Panama}}
| ''Norse Trader'' was a {{GRT|3,507}} cargo ship owned by Wallem & Co., [[Hong Kong]].  While there were no casualties, the ship was a total loss, and was broken up.<ref name=Nors>{{cite web |url=http://www.warsailors.com/freefleet/norfleetn.html#Nors |title=Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939–1945 . Ships starting with N – Nors |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=15 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Rod El Farag||2}}
| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Egypt}}
| ''Rod El Farag'' was a {{GRT|6,292}} cargo liner of the Sociète Misr de Navigation Maritime. She was gutted by fire.<ref name=Chindwin>{{cite web |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=15441|title= SS Chindwin |publisher=Clydeships |access-date=5 November 2019}}</ref>  Declared a total loss, she was sunk for use as a jetty.<ref name=Jordan452>{{cite book |title=The world's merchant fleets, 1939 |first=Roger |last=Jordan |publisher=Chatham publishing |location=London |year=1999 |page=452 |isbn=1 86176 023 X}}</ref>
|-
| {{SS|Tinombo||2}}
| {{flagu|Netherlands}}
|  ''Tinombo'' was a {{GRT|872}} [[coastal trading vessel|coaster]] owned by the Koninklijke Packetvaart Maatschappij. Heavily damaged and sank, loss of 8 crew.<ref name=Lost>{{cite web |url=http://merchantships.tripod.com/fortcreviershipslost.html |title=Ships Lost in the WWII Bombay Explosion |publisher=Merchantships |access-date=15 August 2014}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition]]
* [[List of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions]]
* [[Halifax Explosion]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last1=Ennis|first1=John|title=The Great Bombay Explosion|url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=6kVUUKmtKcHOrQeQqoHIAw&id=e2DSAAAAIAAJ|year=1959|publisher=Duell, Sloan, and Pearce|location=New York}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bombay Explosion (1944)}}
* [http://members.tripod.com/~merchantships/fortcrevierepilogue.html The First and Last Voyage of the Fort Crevier]
* [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000727/edit.htm#5 The day it rained gold]

{{Fort ships}}
{{April 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{authority control}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Explosions in 1944, Explosions in India, Ship fires, Non-combat military accidents, 1944 in British India, 1944 in India, History of Mumbai, 20th century in Mumbai, Disasters in Maharashtra, Maritime incidents in April 1944, British Empire in World War II, April 1944 events
|description=
}}

[[Category:Explosions in 1944]]
[[Category:Explosions in India]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Non-combat military accidents]]
[[Category:1944 in British India]]
[[Category:1944 in India]]
[[Category:History of Mumbai]]
[[Category:20th century in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Disasters in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1944]]
[[Category:British Empire in World War II]]
[[Category:April 1944 events]]