User:MikeVinneyPauly/sandbox

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The Black Tom explosion has been noted as having the deepest impact, among all the attacks, within Germany's two year sabotage campaign in America.

Black Tom Island

The term "Black Tom", referring to an island in the New York Harbor next to the Liberty Island, originates from the dark-skinned fishermen who inhabited the island for many years. [1]

The Royal navy enacted a blockade of Germany, to cut off the country from acquiring supplies to fuel the war effort. As a result (*transition comma*) only the Allied powers could purchase the United States munitions held at Black Tom Island.

(Operation)

Explosion

At 2:08 am, the first and largest explosion took place, with the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am.

One of the first major explosions occurred at the Johnson Barge No. 17, which contained 50 tons of TNT and 417 cases of detonating fuses.

The explosion created a detonation wave that traveled at 24,000 feet per second with enough force to lift firefighters out of their boots and into the air.

On the island, the explosion destroyed more than one hundred railroad cars, thirteen warehouses, and left a 375-foot-by-175-foot crater at the source of the explosion.

Although reports estimate that up to seven people were killed, more accurate sources determined that the total number of fatalities was five people.

Investigation

''Captain Franz Von Rintelen, the leader of the sabotage, used time-delayed incendiary devices, or "pencil bombs", (* try to link these to their respective articles in Wikipedia so people can easily see what these devices are, its the little chain icon when editing *) to initiate (* detonate? *) the explosion. A pencil bombs were charges made of acids placed inside of a copper chamber in the shape of a cigar, as the acid dissolved into the copper a silent and intense flame is developed .''

Captain Franz Von Rintelen has been accredited with 36 attacks to ships, which resulted in millions of dollars of cargo destroyed . Captain Franz Von Rintelen used many resources at his disposal, including a large quantity of monetary funds. Gaining access to the piers was not an issue for Franz Von Rintelen for he used the cash at his disposal to make generous cash bribes. One of such bribes was notably given to Michael Krsitoff, which is believed to be how he had gotten to the munitions depot on Black Tom Island. ''Later, in the investigation into Michael Kristoff’s involvement with the attack, investigators learned that Kristoff had unusual hours of being home and away. Along with a statement from Kristoff’s landlord mentioning how he come home night with dirty hands and clothing, sometimes with the odor of petroleum. (* This last sentence needs some work *)''

As German spies where the most suspected, the ties with other groups was far greater. The German spies teamed up with Irish nationalists and Indian nationalists fighting anti-colonial struggles against the United Kingdom

At the time of these attacks, like the Black Tom explosion, the United States did not have an established national intelligence service, other than diplomats and few military and navel attaches, making the investigation of Black Tom increasingly more difficult. Without a formal intelligence service on the national level, the United States only had rudimentary communications security and no federal statute forbidding peacetime espionage or sabotage, making the connections to the saboteurs and accomplices almost impossible to track.

Alongside the resources that are in place today, some light has been shed on who the individuals were that committed this act of terror. At the conclusion of the investigation (* "The investigation concluded..." also what investigation? *), it is believed that the German saboteurs responsible were Lothar Witzke and Kurt Jahnke, with the aid of Michael Kristoff. Still an assumption (* Is this an assumption of the investigation or is it unconfirmed? *), it is also still believed that Michael Kristoff was responsible for planting and initiating the incendiary devices that resulted in the explosions on Black Tom Island.

(Operation/Group)

Aftermath

The German sabotage campaign, the Black Tom explosion included, is notable for its contribution to the shift of public opinion against Germany, which eventually resulted in American support to enter World War One.

Legacy

The Black Tom Explosion resulted in the establishment of domestic intelligence agencies for the United States. The event also had an impact on public safety legislation, while this was less apparent it is still a factor. (* Should split into two sentences *)

As a result of the sabotage techniques used by Germany and the United State's (* apostrophe *) declaration of war on Germany lead to the creation of the espionage act passed by congress in late 1917.

See also

Books

References

1.         Karnoutsos, Carmela. “Black Tom Explosion Black Tom Island - Upper New York Bay and Jersey City Waterfront (Southern Area of Liberty State Park, Greenville).” Black Tom Explosion, www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/B_Pages/Black_Tom_Explosion.htm. – added in to cite my sources