Los Angeles Public Relations

Exactly 34 year ago, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald nicknamed the Mighty Fritz sank in Lake Superior during a thunderstorm.

Launched on June 7, 1958, it was the largest ship on the great lakes for the next 13 years. On November 10, 1975, the Fitzgerald sank within a few minutes in the middle of a storm. There were no distress signals. The site of the sinking was approximately 17 miles from the entrance to whitefish bay. The entire crew of 29 perished with the sinking of the ship.

The Edmund Fitzgerald had a capacity of 24,100 tons and was 729 feet long. The ship served well over the years and prior to the event of November 10, 1975, the Fitzgerald did suffer several minor mishaps including one grounding.

On the last voyage on November 1975, the Fitzgerald was enroute to Zug Island near Detroit. Crossing Lake Superior the crew encountered a fierce winter storm and high waves.  Radio contact was made to other ships and the coast guard in the morning. However, the coast guard had warned all other vessels to keep away from the area because of the approaching winter storm. By mid afternoon on November 10, the Fitzgerald did report some minor problems and soon lost her radar capabilities. The last communication from the doomed carrier was at 7.10 pm and then disappeared without any distress signal.

Why such a large ship sank was a mystery for many years.  Today it believed that a rogue wave badly battered the ship leading to flooding and eventually snapping the weakened ship in half.

The great lakes have a long history of nautical disasters but the Fitzgerald has been one of its biggest catch.