Bari 1943: The Poisoned Harbor - Unreleased Color Footage

On 2 December 1943, the port of Bari was bombed by 105 German aircraft after being reported as “completely full” of Allied ships. The raid destroyed 17 vessels and crippled the harbor for weeks. Soon after, sailors and civilians developed mysterious symptoms: severe skin burns, blindness, and respiratory failure. The cause was uncovered when the American cargo ship SS John Harvey was found to be carrying 550 tons of secret mustard gas. The explosion released the banned chemical agent into the air, triggering a hidden health disaster. Under orders from Winston Churchill, the incident was heavily censored, becoming one of World War II’s darkest secrets.