The hold of a late nineteenth/earlytwentieth century ocean liner was essentially a close quarters coal mine with the fuel constantly being moved from one bunker to another to keep the ship in trim. Indeed, Bob Bollard concluded that process was probably the secondary cause of the Lusitania’s sinking. When the torpedo hit the ship it acted as a huge detonator, setting off a giant explosion fueled by the coal dust in the ship’s hold, much like a dust explosion in a grain elevator.
That was a BRILLIANT post. Very intelligent analysis.