The Day Texas City Turned Into A Fiery Hell

The story of the April 16 1947 worst industrial accident in the history of the United States.
Music by Sam Roberts, from his limited edition cassette recording "Songs of The Gulf Freeway".

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sam
• Roberts
• Gulf
• Freeway
• April
• 16
• 1947
• Texas
• City
• Disaster
• Longhorn
• II
• SS
• Wilson
• B.
• Keene
• Highflyer
• Grandcamp
• Industrial
• Monsanto
• Seatrain
• ammonium
• nitrate
• fertilizer

[DapperDeb]

My dad, Charles Henry West, U.S. Corps of Engineer, was part of the search and rescue! He retired with 34 years in. This memorial to that horrible tragedy is to be applauded! Just felt my dad had to have been somewhere in the photos!! I grew up hearing about the horrible scenes he witnessed! He will forever be My Hero!

[tpacklick]

Thank you for your comments.

My company built some buildings in the Texas City refineries. It is an eerie landscape inside the refinery fences. Hats off to Sam Roberts for writing and singing the song.

[debknows]

1947 was a year filled with UFO activity in various parts of the south west United States. Not sure if this explosion was caused by a UFO, or just what.

[tpacklick]

Definitely an

Unidentified Fertilizer Obliteration

[CalJennings]

Good video. The cause was more probably static electricity than a discarded cigarette, though.

[tpacklick]

Thanks for watching. Whatever the cause, it was a horrible tragedy.

[ajf1060]

@spranxx It was actually an ammonium nitrate fertilizer ship and the storage facilities for the AN that caused most of the damage and explosive power, oil refineries have nothing on Ammonium Nitrate.

[Doug4422]

It was not just one, but two Ammonium Nitrate explosions, the first was the French cargo ship Grandcamp, the second was a private freighter High Flyer, Texas City was almost completly wiped off the map within 24 hours.

[frogjezz]

@debknows dumbass

[grizzcreate]

@debknows  Not sure what Deb knows. Have you recently watched the movie "JFK" with Oliver Stone? Glad you've done such thorough research - but I think real engineers and experts have already made intelligent investigations. And I've yet to see UFOs attributed to the cause.

[spranxx]

My father was seven at the time and experienced the whole thing. He said it was a ammunition ship that had a fire below deck prior to pulling into port. The coast guard warned the ship off but they came in anyway. A hatch was opened and the fire was allowed to breath which caused the ship to explode. Texas city had sugar refineries and oil refineries all along the port and these were ignited by the ship.