Footage of the Halifax explosion, the largest manmade explosion prior to the nukes.

These unique photographs taken during the First World War by a British sailor show the biggest manmade explosion in history, when two warships crashed into one another, killing 2,000 people. The photos, taken by Royal Navy Lt Victor Magnus, have emerged nearly 100 years after they were taken and show the moment a French and Norwegian ship dramatically collided in what has become known as 'The Halifax Explosion'. During the incident, the SS Mont-Blanc - a ship from France fully loaded with wartime explosives - collided with SS Imo from Norway. The French ship then blew up, nearly wiping out an entire district. Experts say the blast was the largest manmade explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons - with an equivalent force of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT. Amateur photographer Victor, who was based in Halifax in the Canadian state of Nova Scotia, was said to 'always had a camera around his neck' and was able to grab a series of shots of the original 'big bang'. The photos have now been found by his daughter Ann Foreman, 89, who discovered them among photo albums in a drawer. She had no idea a slice of history had been gathering dust in her home for nearly 100 years. Mrs Foreman, from Hayle in Cornwall, who served in the land army, has now taken them to the Imperial War Museum, London. She said: 'My father was a great photographer. He always had a camera around his neck. He would take photos all the time. He never asked anyone to pose or anything. He just snapped away. 'It was just a coincidence that he was at the Halifax disaster. The actual explosion was a a massive amount of smoke. 'He was very lucky to survive, especially as it destroyed the town. He took some photos on the shore and it looked like the London Blitz. 'The whole situation of finding the photos has made it very real. I'm just so proud of him. He never talked about this and this is the first time seeing them. It's extraordinary.' After the war, Victor went back to his job as a Marine Underwriter in Essex, before serving in the home guard during the Second World War. Although later leaving the role to become an apple farmer, he always loved the sea and was the Commodore of Essex Yacht Club. He was married for his whole life, had three children and six grandchildren, and died in 1969. The explosion, at 9.04am on Thursday December 6, 1917, happened in the the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. A fire on board the French ship then ignited her explosive cargo causing a cataclysmic explosion that devastated the Richmond District of Halifax. It was so powerful it almost wiped out the entire town and around 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, and collapsed buildings and more than 9,000 injured. Two ships, one loaded with explosive, struck each other while the town shock with horror. SS Mont Blanc was described as a huge 'floating bomb' because of her formidable cargo. There were more than 2,000 tonnes of picric acid, 200 tonnes of TNT, 56 tonnes of gun cotton and 223 tonnes of motor fuel on board. Records show the ship exploded and disintegrated in seconds. Altogether 3.8 sq km (1.5 sq miles) of Halifax was flattened in an instant and more than 1,900 people perished. The SS Mont Blanc was completely destroyed, with its hull launched 1,000ft in the air, while the SS Imo survived and returned to service in 1918. As the ships collided, Lt Montague was on the shore with his camera in hand, snapping the event. His daughter is expected to visit the Imperial War Museum on December 2nd, where an expert will talk through the photos with her. Dr Robb Robinson, a lecturer in Maritime History at Hull University, said: 'It was 1917 and the Germans had just unleashed submarine warfare, causing massive problems for the allies. There was a big push by the Germans to win the war. 'To try and stop this, the allies launched a convoy system with ships staying sailing close to each other. This left them vulnerable to collision. 'Secondly, so many ships had been sunk that ships that weren't right for the job were being used. 'Thirdly, they were drawing increasingly on Canada and the USA for ammunition, so ships were being filled with ammunition before sailing over. 'It lead to the most devastating explosion there had every been at the time. Before Hiroshima, every explosion was judged on how it compared to Halifax. 'This explosion was a precursor of things to come throughout the century.'