The Mighty Wreckage: Edmund Fitzgerald's Final Hours

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, resulting in the loss of all 29 crew members. It was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes when it was launched in 1958 and was owned by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. The ship was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works of River Rouge, Michigan, and measured 729 feet long and weighed over 13,000 tons. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was primarily used for hauling iron ore pellets from Minnesota to Detroit and Toledo, and its impressive size made it popular with boat enthusiasts.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was a Great Lakes freighter

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of all 29 crew members on board. It was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes when it was launched on June 7, 1958, and it remains the largest ship ever to have sunk there.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was built at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan, and was named after the then-president and chairman of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Edmund Fitzgerald, whose family had a long history with the Great Lakes shipping industry. The ship was the first to be built to the maximum size of the St. Lawrence Seaway, measuring 729 feet (222 metres) long and weighing more than 13,600 tons.

The Edmund Fitzgerald typically carried pellets of taconite, a type of iron ore, from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. On its final voyage, the ship departed from Superior, Wisconsin, on November 9, 1975, bound for a steel mill near Detroit. It soon made radio contact with another ship, the Arthur M. Anderson, which was trailing about 10 to 15 miles behind.

As the two ships crossed Lake Superior, they encountered a severe storm with near-hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 metres) high. At around 3:15 pm on November 10, the Edmund Fitzgerald reported minor damage and a list to the Anderson and requested assistance with its route after its radar system failed. Despite the challenging conditions, Captain Ernest M. McSorley of the Edmund Fitzgerald radioed "We are holding our own" to the Anderson at 7:10 pm. Those were the last words heard from the ship, and it disappeared from the Anderson's radar about 10 minutes later.

Despite an extensive search involving multiple vessels, helicopters, and airplanes, no survivors were found from the Edmund Fitzgerald. The wreck was eventually located by a U.S. Navy aircraft on November 14, 1975, in Canadian waters about 17 miles from Whitefish Bay. The ship was found in two large pieces, with the bow section upright in the mud and the stern section capsized at an angle.

The exact cause of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains a mystery, with various theories proposed, including ineffective hatch closures, structural failure, topside damage, and rogue waves. The tragedy inspired the popular ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot, which helped make it one of the most famous shipwrecks in the history of the Great Lakes.

It was the largest ship on the Great Lakes

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when it was launched on June 7, 1958. It measured 729 feet (222 metres) long and weighed more than 13,600 tons. It was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works of River Rouge, Michigan, and was commissioned by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, which had heavily invested in the iron and minerals industries.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the first ship built to the maximum size of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and it earned the nickname "Queen of the Lakes" until the launch of the SS Murray Bay a year later, in 1959. The ship was named after the then-president and chairman of Northwestern Mutual, Edmund Fitzgerald, whose grandfather and great uncles had been lake captains and whose father owned the Milwaukee Drydock Company, which built and repaired ships.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a record-setting workhorse, often breaking its own seasonal haul records. Its size, performance, and the fact that its captain, Peter Pulcer, would play music over the ship's intercom as it passed through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, endeared it to boat watchers. It was also known as "Fitz", "Pride of the American Side", "Mighty Fitz", "Toledo Express", "Big Fitz", and the "Titanic of the Great Lakes".

On November 9, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald departed from Superior, Wisconsin, bound for a steel mill near Detroit with a cargo of 26,000 tons of taconite pellets. It was captained by Ernest M. McSorley, and there were 28 other men on board. It was soon joined by the SS Arthur M. Anderson, which maintained radio contact with the Fitzgerald throughout the journey.

The Fitzgerald was the faster of the two ships, and it took the lead with the Anderson trailing 10 to 15 miles behind. The captains of both ships were aware of an incoming storm and agreed to take a northerly route across Lake Superior, where they would be protected by the highlands on the Canadian shore. However, a shift in the wind meant that the vessels had inadvertently set a course that took them into the brunt of the storm.

As the day progressed, the storm worsened, with winds of up to 70-75 knots and waves swelling to heights of 25 feet (8 metres). At 3:30 pm, Captain McSorley radioed the Anderson to report that the Fitzgerald had suffered minor damage and was listing, but that he had turned on the pumps. He asked the Anderson to stay nearby as he slowed the Fitzgerald down. At around 4:10 pm, the Fitzgerald reported that both its radars were down and requested assistance with navigation.

At 7:10 pm, Captain McSorley radioed the Anderson to say, "We are holding our own." These were the last words heard from the Fitzgerald. Ten minutes later, the ship disappeared from the Anderson's radar, less than 20 miles from the shelter of Whitefish Bay. Despite an extensive search involving other vessels, helicopters, and airplanes, only lifeboats, life jackets, and other debris were discovered.

The wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was discovered on May 20, 1976, by a submersible robot that videotaped and photographed the bow and stern of the ship, which lay in two pieces 530 feet (162 metres) below the lake's surface. The cause of the sinking remains a mystery, with various theories, including ineffective hatch closures, structural problems, and rogue waves, being proposed.

The ship was owned by an insurance company

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was owned by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company had invested heavily in the iron and minerals industries, and the construction of the Edmund Fitzgerald represented the first such investment by any American life insurance company.

In 1957, Northwestern Mutual contracted the Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) of River Rouge, Michigan, to design and build the ship. The ship was to be the largest on North America's Great Lakes, measuring 729 feet (222 metres) long and weighing more than 13,600 tons. The ship was built at a cost of $7 million (equivalent to $58.1 million in 2023) and was named after the company's president, Edmund Fitzgerald.

On June 7, 1958, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was launched and christened after its namesake. More than 15,000 people attended the ceremony, which was plagued by misfortunes. Elizabeth Fitzgerald, the wife of Edmund Fitzgerald, needed three attempts to break a bottle of champagne over the ship's bow. After a 36-minute delay, the ship was launched sideways, creating a large wave that doused the spectators and crashed into a pier before righting itself.

Despite these inauspicious beginnings, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald went on to become a record-setting workhorse, often breaking its own haul records. It carried taconite, a type of iron ore, from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to ironworks in Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio, among other Great Lakes ports. The ship's size, record-breaking performance, and the "DJ captain," Peter Pulcer, who piped music over the ship's intercom, endeared the Edmund Fitzgerald to boat watchers.

On November 9, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald departed from Superior, Wisconsin, bound for a steel mill near Detroit. The ship was carrying 26,000 tons of taconite pellets when it encountered a severe storm on Lake Superior. Despite efforts to navigate the treacherous conditions, the ship sank on November 10, 1975, with the loss of all 29 crew members. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, and the tragedy is one of the best-known disasters in the history of Great Lakes shipping.

The ship was named after the head of the company

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was named after the then-president and chairman of the board of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Edmund Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's grandfather and great uncles had been lake captains, and his father owned the Milwaukee Drydock Company, which built and repaired ships.

Edmund Fitzgerald tried to dissuade the company from naming the ship after him, suggesting alternative names such as Centennial, Seaway, Milwaukee and Northwestern. However, the board was resolute, and Edmund abstained from voting; the 36 board members voted unanimously to name the ship SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

Edmund Fitzgerald was built at the Great Lakes Engineering Works of River Rouge and launched on 7 June 1958. It was the first ship built to the maximum size of the St. Lawrence Seaway and was the longest ship on the Great Lakes until the launch of the Murray Bay a year later in 1959.

On 9 November 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald departed Superior, Wisconsin, with a load of 26,000 tons of taconite pellets bound for Zug Island, Detroit. The ship met with a terrible storm, with winds of 40-60 knots and waves of 10-25 feet high. Captain Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson, which was trailing the Fitzgerald, stated that "these were the biggest seas he has ever seen".

At 3:30 pm on 10 November, Captain McSorley of the Fitzgerald reported that the ship had lost two vent covers, a fence railing, and was developing a list. The Fitzgerald had also lost its radar system. At 7:10 pm, Captain Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson radioed McSorley to ask for an update, to which McSorley replied: "We're holding our own." That was the last time anyone heard from the vessel, and 10 minutes later, the Anderson lost the Fitzgerald on its radar.

The ship's main job was hauling iron ore

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a Great Lakes freighter, the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes when it was launched in 1958. The ship's main job was hauling iron ore, specifically taconite, a type of iron ore, from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to ironworks in Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio.

For 17 years, the Edmund Fitzgerald hauled taconite from Minnesota's Iron Range mines to iron works in Detroit and Toledo, and other ports. She set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own record.

Taconite is a low-grade iron ore, which is heated and rolled into marble-sized balls. The Edmund Fitzgerald typically carried pellets of taconite on its journeys.

On its fateful final voyage, the Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin, on November 9, 1975, with a load of 26,000 tons of taconite pellets bound for Zug Island, Detroit. The ship was captained by Ernest M. McSorley, and there were 28 other men on board.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was a "workhorse", known for its size, record-breaking performance, and the "DJ captain", Captain Peter Pulcer, who piped music over the ship's intercom as it passed through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was a popular ship with boat watchers, and earned several nicknames, including "Fitz", "Pride of the American Side", "Mighty Fitz", "Toledo Express", "Big Fitz", and the "Titanic of the Great Lakes".

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