Images: The fortieth anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
See images of the ore-hauling ship Edmund Fitzgerald and the aftermath of its sinking with a crew of 29 during a storm on Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. The event was immortalized with a 1976 song by recording artist Gordon Lightfoot.
A model of the Edmund Fitzgerald sits in front of recording artist Gordon Lightfoot, center, as he and family members of the victims of the Edmund Fitzgerald take a group photo after the Edmund Fitzgerald's 25th Anniversary Memorial Service at the Mariner's Church of Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2000, in Detroit. Lightfoot's song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," immortalized the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which went down in Lake Superior in 1975. All 29 crew members were lost with the ship.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The largest and longest vessel ever built on the Great Lakes, the 729-foot ore carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald, slides into the launching basin, on June 7, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan. Two more months of interior work remain, before the $8,000,000 ship is put into service. Her capacity will be 26,000 tons and her speed up to 16 miles per hour.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A four-man inquiry board of Coast Guard officers opened hearings into the loss of the ore carrier Ed, und Fitzgerald in a Lake Superior storm in Cleveland on Tuesday, Nov.10, 1975. The board members from left to right are: Capt. Adam S. Zabinski, Rear Adm. Winford W. Barrow, Capt. James A. Wilson and Cmdr. Charles Loosemorr.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of a U.S. Coast Guard Board of Inquiry, in white coveralls, inspect liferings and other debris of the sunken ore carrier S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 23, 1975. The freighter sank to the bottom of Lake Superior during a severe storm Nov. 10.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This underwater photo of the sunken SS Edmund Fitzgerald was taken by an unmanned submersible robot, as a research team investigates the wreck site 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, Mich., on August 24, 1989. The 729-foot ore freighter sunk on November 23, 1975, during a severe storm, taking its load of iron and the crew of 29 men to the bottom of the Lake Superior.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The 729-foot freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sails through Detroit River, Detroit, Mich., in this undated photo. The ship is known for its ore cargo record for the Great Lakes, carrying 30,000 tons of taconite pellets in 1968.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two U.S. Coast Guardsmen move a life raft from the Str. Edmund Fitzgerald across the dock in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1975 after the raft was plucked from Whitefish Bay by the Str. Roger Blough, a merchant ship assisting in the search for the missing Str. Fitzgerald which disappeared in severe weather on Monday in Lake Superior just north of Sault St. Marie.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A helicopter, aiding in the search for the missing Str. Edmund Fitzgerald lost in severe night in Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior just north of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is fueled at a landing pad at Whitefish Point on Tuesday on Nov. 12, 1975. The Fitzgerald went down with a crowd of 29 while carrying about 26,000 tons of taconite pellets.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coast Guard officers on a Board of Inquiry inspected life rings that were recovered from the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald which sank in stormy weather in Lake Superior on November 10. All 29 crewmen aboard perished and did not get a chance to use any of the lifesaving equipment. Inspection took place at Cleveland Harbor on Sunday, Nov. 24, 1975 and officers donned white coveralls because equipment was covered with oil.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This 1976 underwater photo shows a close up of the pilot house of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald after it sank at the bottom of Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. The freighter split in two when it was caught in a severe storm and sank with its load of iron ore and crew of 29 men.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family members and mourners participate in a consecration of the gravesite of the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac at the spot in Lake Superior where the 729-foot ore freighter plunged to the lake bottom in 1975 with 29 people aboard. The cutter bore about 200 mourners to the service at the wreck site 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, Mich.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Underwater photos and a minature replica of the Edmund Fitzgerald lying on the bottom of Lake Superior is part of an exhibit at the Lake Superior Maritime Museum Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005, in Duluth, Minn. The Fitzgerald, an ore carrier, sank Nov. 10, 1975 taking with it it's crew of 29 men.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A life ring and life vest hang in an exhibit along with a painting of the Edmund Fitzgerald in rough Lake Superior waters in a display at the Lake Superior Maritime Museum Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005, in Duluth, Minn. The Fitzgerald, an ore carrier, sank with its crew of 29 Nov. 10, 1975.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Retired ship captain Armand Johnson looks at a watercolor of the Sylvania, top, one of the ships he captained, along with other boat pictures and paintings at his Hermantown, Minn., home Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005. Johnson was on another boat in Ashland Harbor when he heard the radio traffic that the oar carrier Edmund Fitzgerald was in peril during a storm on Lake Superior in 1975. The Fitzgerald, an ore carrier, sank Nov. 10, 1975.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A hand touchs the bell recovered from the sunken ore freighter Edmund Fitzegrald at the 30th anniversary memorial Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005, in Whitefish Point, Mich. The event is in honor of the 29 mariners who lost their lives in the sinking of the ship in a vicious Lake Superior storm in 1975. Relatives of the crewmen and survivors of other shipwrecks are among those invited to ring the Fitzgerald bell during the ceremony. Divers recovered the bell in 1995.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The beacon of the Split Rock Lighthouse, on the north shore of Lake Superior near Two Harbors, Minn., is lit Friday, Nov. 10, 2006, in honor of the 29 men that died 31 years ago when the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a horrendous November gale.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.
If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.