1943 Filipstad explosion

none December 2024 59.9083 10.7148 type:event title thumb|Filipstad explosion The 1943 Filipstad explosion was a fire in an ammunition store at Filipstad in Oslo on Sunday, 19 December 1943, during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The fire started during the unloading of ammunition from the transport ship Selma 1924 2.Krigens Dagbok Eksplosjon på Filipstad no Voksø, Per Per Voksø 1984 Det Beste Oslo 82-7010-166-4 384 The estimated amount of exploded ammunition varies from 800 to 1,200 tons. A large number of shells and grenades were tossed into the air and spread over the city. There were around 40 Norwegian casualties and around 75 Germans were killed, and 400 wounded. About 400 buildings were severely damaged.Filipstadeksplosjonen Store norske leksikon Henriksen, Petter Kunnskapsforlaget Oslo http://www.snl.no/Filipstadeksplosjonen no 19 August 2010 Lars Borgersrud Lars Borgersrud Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 Filipstad-eksplosjonen no Dahl Hans Fredrik Dahl Hjeltnes Guri Hjeltnes Nøkleby Berit Nøkleby Ringdal Nils Johan Ringdal Sørensen Øystein Sørensen http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/f/f2.html#filipstad-eksplosjonen 19 August 2010 1995 Cappelen Oslo 82-02-14138-9 102–103 https://web.archive.org/web/20100104054609/http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/f/f2.html#filipstad-eksplosjonen 2010-01-04 dead Course of events The first explosion occurred at around 14:30 local time, and killed 20 dock workers, two crane operators, several German guards and crew from Selma.Lillegaard p. 136 Workers that were not killed immediately managed to escape from the area or find shelter among large cement blocks on the wharf. The main explosion occurred two hours later, at around 16:30, when an estimated 400 tons of ammunition exploded within a few seconds, five firefighters were killed and sixteen severely injured.Lillegaard pp. 66–71 The explosive fire lasted several hours. The dangerous situation was declared over at 21:45 the same night. A nearby coal store of 20,000 tons had been set on fire and burned for three weeks.Lillegaard p. 38 The ship Selma did not explode during the Filipstad fire. The ship was towed away from Filipstad. It exploded and sank in another explosion on 11 January 1944. Damage The fire resulted in a large number of shells and grenades being thrown over Oslo, but most of them did not explode. The Filipstad area was severely damaged by the explosion and resulting fires. An area of about 60 decares was completely destroyed.Lillegaard pp. 134-135 A disastrous fire developed in the neighbouring districts, which was the largest fire in Oslo since the establishment of a permanent fire brigade in 1861.Lillegaard p. 133 Around 350 firefighters from Oslo and 60 from Aker participated in the firefighting operations.Lillegaard p. 134 Pressure waves resulted in glass being damaged in large areas of Oslo and Aker. According to the city architect, the amount of shattered glass was 53,000 square metres in residential houses, 28,000 square metres in offices and shops, and 9,000 square metres in public buildings such as hospitals and schools. The total amount of shattered glass was 90,000 square metres spread over 1,600 premises.Lillegaard p. 139 The effect of the explosion was felt as far the southern part of Nordmarka, where the windows of Skjennungstua were shattered. Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, whose house was partially damaged by the explosions, witnessed how the resulting conflagration unusually illuminated the night sky which he captured in his painting Explosion. In observing and painting the scene on a cold, wet night, the 80 year old artist succumbed to a respiratory illness and died the following month. Edvard Munch’s Explosion: The Painting That Took a Life https://art-hub-magazine.com/2024/04/08/edvard-munchs-explosion-the-painting-that-took-a-life/ Art Hub Magazine 8 April 2024 English 21 August 2025 Cause After investigations by the German occupation authorities, the incident was declared to be an accident. It has been speculated whether the cause could have been sabotage, but no organization or person has claimed responsibility. Notes 33em References Filipstad i flammer 1943 Leif B. Lillegaard Leif B. Lillegaard 1983 1963 Ernst G. Mortensens forlag Oslo no 82-527-0728-9 Category:1943 explosions Category:1940s fires in Europe Category:1943 fires Filipstad Explosion, 1943 Category:Explosions in Norway Category:December 1943 in Europe Category:Military history of Norway during World War II Category:1940s in Oslo Category:1943 disasters in Norway Category:Ammunition depot fires and explosions