This day in history: Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior 48 ...

CBS News Detroit Digital Brief for Nov. 10, 2023 03:39

(CBS DETROIT) - On Nov. 10, 1975, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. 

Background on the Edmund Fitzgerald

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee contracted with the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse to construct the largest Great Lakes bulk carrier, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. 

It was launched on June 8, 1958, and was named after the President and Chairman of the Board of Northwestern Mutual. 

This ship brought taconite from Silver Bay, Minnesota, to the Detroit and Toledo area.

The 729-foot ship weighed 13,632 gross tons and was the largest ship on the Great Lakes until 1971. 

The day the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior

The ship was loaded with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets and left Superior, Wisconsin, at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9. 

The Fitzgerald, with Captain McSorley, was in radio contact with Captain Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson, which joined on the journey after leaving Two Harbors, Minnesota, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

Since the Fitzgerald was faster, it was about 15 feet ahead of the Anderson. 

The captains decided to go across Lake Superior to get to the destination due to a storm entering the Great Lakes, and the route took them between Isle Royale and Keweenaw Peninsula. 

Weather conditions were terrible on Nov. 10, with winds at 50 knots and seas at 12 to 16 feet, but both of the ship's captains had sailed through similar conditions before. 

At about 3:30 p.m., Captain McSorley contacted Captain Cooper and told him that he had a fence rail down, two damaged vents, and more, and he asked if the Anderson would stay near the Fitzgerald until they reached Whitefish Point. 

At about 6:55 p.m., a wave engulfed the rear of the ship, and it worked its way along the deck, causing the bow of the ship to go down into the sea. 

The Anderson spoke to the Fitzgerald for the final time at 7:10 p.m. before losing the ship on radar tracking five minutes later. 

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum says the Anderson located the Fitzgerald's two lifeboats and debris, but no survivors.

Twenty-nine men were on the Fitzgerald when it sank. 

Gordon Lightfoot and the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" song

Gordon Lightfoot, a Canadian folk icon, told the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald's demise in his 1975 song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Lightfoot died earlier this year, on Monday, May 1, at 84 years old. 

In: This day in history Great Lakes Michigan Lake Superior