Oostende Naval Memorial
On the afternoon of February 14, 1945, disaster struck the Canadian 29th Motor Torpedo Boat flotilla during the Second World War. In advance of a patrol that night, many of the sailors were asleep on their boats docked in Ostend, Belgium (spelled ‘Oostende’ in the local Flemish language). Spilled fuel that had ended up floating on the surface of the harbor suddenly ignited and, before an alarm could even be raised, a raging fire quickly spread amongst the closely-moored vessels. Fuel and ammunition supplies exploded as boat after boat caught fire.…
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