Forty-seven years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald was caught in the grip of a deadly storm on Lake Superior.
Investigators would later say the Mighty Fitz’s course had put her in the “worst possible place” amid the monstrous waves of that November gale.
When she sank with all 29 souls aboard on Nov. 10, 1975, the big freighter’s story quickly became the Great Lake’s most well-known shipwreck.
Her demise was shared around the world in Gordon Lightfoot’s song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” while the harrowing details of the ore carrier’s last journey became part of mariner lore.
Today, we remember the lives lost. And we honor the amazing bravery of those who risked their own lives to search for a crew who would never be rescued.
We’re highlighting a collection of photos that have been shared by our friends at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, the Associated Press, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other ship enthusiasts.
We’ve included some interesting facts about the Fitzgerald’s work history as a stellar cargo hauler, and some of the heartbreaking conversations that marked her final hours.
To the Mighty Fitz, we offer the formal salute: 3 longs and 2 shorts.
RELATED: 2022 Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Event: The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula will be offering a livestream memorial service at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10. See the streaming details here.
Part 1: The Early Days
The Edmund Fitzgerald launch at Great Lakes Engineering Works on June 7, 1958.
Edmund Fitzgerald seen from the Ambassador Bridge. In this photo, the vessel is underway (downbound) on the Detroit River in 1960.
The Edmund Fitzgerald under construction.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was built at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge and launched in 1958.
Part 2: The Day of the Storm
CONVERSATION AT 3:30 P.M. ON NOV. 10, 1975
At 3:30 p.m. The Fitzgerald’s captain, Ernest McSorley, calls the nearby freighter Aurthur M. Anderson’s captain, Jesse Cooper, to report damage and say his ship would slow to let the Anderson catch up. Minutes later, the U.S. Coast Guard issues directions for all ships to find safe anchorage because the Soo Locks have been closed.
McSorley: “Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have sustained some topside damage. I have a fence rail laid down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. I’m checking down. Will you stay by me til I get to Whitefish?”
Cooper: “Charlie on that Fitzgerald. Do you have your pumps going?”
McSorley: “Yes, both of them.”
The Arthur M. Anderson ore carrier takes on a load of taconite Oct. 25, 2005 in Duluth, Minn. The Anderson was called upon to help search for the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald in rough Lake Superior waters in 1975. The Fitzgerald, an ore carrier, sank Nov. 10, 1975. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)AP
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. (AP Photo)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. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS
An underwater camera gives a view into the pilot house of the wrecked Great Lakes ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald. The massive ship sank in a severe storm on Lake Superior Nov. 10, 1975, killing all 29 aboard. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard)AP
CONVERSATION AT 5:30 P.M. ON NOV. 10, 1975
At 5:30 p.m., the Fitzgerald crew is advised by Swedish ship Avafors the Whitefish Point beacon and light are disabled by power failure.
Avafors: “Fitzgerald, this is the Avafors. I have the Whitefish light now but still am receiving no beacon. Over.”
Fitzgerald: “I’m very glad to hear it.”
Avafors: “The wind is really howling down here. What are the conditions where you are?”
Fitzgerald: (Undiscernable shouts overheard) “DON’T LET NOBODY ON DECK!”
Avafors: “What’s that, Fitzgerald? Unclear. Over.”
Fitzgerald: “I have a bad list, lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. One of the worst seas I’ve ever been in.”
Avafors: “If I’m correct, you have two radars.”
Fitzgerald: “They’re both gone.”
Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell.
Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975.
Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell.
Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975
FINAL CONVERSATION ON NOV. 10, 1975
At 7:10 p.m. the Anderson calls the Fitzgerald with navigation instructions. The Anderson is about 10 miles behind the doomed freighter.
Anderson: “Fitzgerald, this is the Anderson. Have you checked down?”
Fitzgerald: “Yes we have.”
Anderson: “Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you.”
Fitzgerald: “Well, am I going to clear?”
Anderson: “Yes. He is going to pass to the west of you.”
Fitzgerald: “Well, fine.”
Anderson: “By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problem?”
Fitzgerald: “We are holding our own.”
Anderson: “Okay, fine. I’ll be talking to you later.”
At 7:15 p.m. the Fitzgerald disappears from the Anderson’s radar. More than an hour later, the Coast Guard begins an active search. The 29 crew members aboard all perish.
Part 3: Pieces Recovered, Dives to the Wreck Site
Life vests recovered after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
The No. 2 lifeboat that was recovered after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
An oil-splattered life ring from the Edmund Fitzgerald was among the limited debris recovered after the sinking.
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 Nov. 10, 1975. 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. (AP Photo/GE)AP
The Edmund Fitzgerald's sounding board, which was later found spilt in two and covered in oil. It was part of the limited amount of debris discovered after the sinking.
The Edmund Fitzgerald's bell now is displayed at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Canadian explorer Joseph MacInnis led a 1995 expedition to recover it. This quest gave the families of the lost crew members a tangible memorial.
The U.S. Navy remotely operated vehicle CURV-III was brought in to survey the Edmund Fitzgerald wreckage in spring 1976.
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. (AP Photo/JCH)ASSOCIATED PRESS
A life raft from the SS Edmund Fitzgerald is examined by a U.S. Coast Guard on the dock in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 12, 1975. The raft was brought ashore from the steamer Roger Blough, which picked the raft from Whitefish Bay where the Fitzgerald sank Nov. 10. (AP Photo)
When the U.S. Coast Guard surveyed the Edmund Fitzgerald's wreck site in 1976, it used a U.S. Navy submersible to get video of the ship's two halves on the lake bottom, covered in mud. Artist sketches made from this video are included in the official Marine Casualty Report issued in 1977.
Of the 7,000 shipwrecks recorded in The Great Lakes, only 5 percent of them happened in Lake Superior.
Gordon Lightfoot Song: "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
