The Dutch steam trawler ''Voorbode'' was a fishing vessel, until it was confiscated by the Germans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and used for military transport. In April 1944, it was on its way from

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

when it had mechanical problems, forcing it to seek repairs in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Norway. The ship was allowed to enter Bergen harbour loaded with of explosives, even though it did not satisfy security regulations and should not have been allowed into a major city with this cargo.

Resulting damage

On 20 April at 8:39, the ship exploded at the quay in the center of Bergen. The force of the explosion caused a water column that was hundreds of metres high, spreading heavy debris. Several ships were thrown on land and ''Voorbode''s anchor was later found on the mountain

Sandviksfjellet Sandviksfjellet is a mountain in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is one of the traditional seven mountains that surround the city centre of Bergen. The mountain lies on the east side of the city neighborhood of Sandviken, jus ...

at from the blast area. The air pressure from the explosion and the tsunami that followed flattened whole neighbourhoods near the harbour; then fires broke out and further destroyed the wooden houses, leaving 5,000 people homeless; 160 people were killed and 5,000 wounded, mostly civilians. The

Nykirken Nykirken (literally: "The new church") is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Nordnes area of the city of Bergen. It is one of the churches for the Bergen Cathedral paris ...

was among the buildings which were severely damaged.

Reporting

The Germans initially tried to conceal the extent of the catastrophe, probably because it exposed their failure to maintain security regulations. Because the explosion occurred on

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's birthday, there was some suspicion of sabotage, but investigations revealed that the explosion was an accident caused by self-ignition. Rescue efforts after the event were extensive and have been well documented.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Voorbode 20th century in Bergen Ships of the Netherlands World War II auxiliary ships of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea Maritime incidents in April 1944 1944 in Norway