A quiz question · medium
What did Captain Charles de Guillebon of the SS *Grandcamp* do as the fertilizer fire spread on 16 April 1947?
De Guillebon refused to abandon ship and led the firefighting effort with his crew. The Grandcamp's 2,200 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated at 9:12 AM, killing him, all 28 of his crew, and approximately 580 others on shore. It was at the time the largest non-nuclear explosion in U.S. history. A second ship in the harbour, the *High Flyer*, detonated 16 hours later.
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The Captain Who Stayed on the Burning Ship On 16 April 1947 a French freighter loaded with fertilizer caught fire at a Texas dock. Everyone but Captain de Guillebon ran. He fought the fire.
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