Loss of Carl D. Bradley is one of the Great Lakes’ largest shipwrecks: Shaw Local

The most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes history is the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Seventeen years earlier, another November storm also claimed a heralded freighter, with an even greater number of victims.

This week marks the anniversary of the wreck of the Carl D. Bradley, a 650-foot steamboat that broke down in northern Lake Michigan on November 18, 1958, amid harsh weather conditions.

Only two of the ship’s 35 men survived the sinking, one of the last major shipwrecks on the lakes and the largest to date. Like so many other major wrecks on the lakes, the Bradley was wrecked during the infamous November storms during its final run of the season.

Launched in April 1927, the Carl D. Bradley was owned by US Steel and transported limestone for the Michigan Limestone & Chemical Co., based in Rogers City, Michigan. The self-unloading freighter, named after the late president of Michigan Limestone, was the largest ship on the lakes until 1949.

Nov. 18 marks the anniversary of the wreck of the Carl D. Bradley, a 650-foot steamboat that broke down in northern Lake Michigan in 1958 amid harsh weather conditions. (Public domain photo)

The Bradley drew a depth of 10 meters with a capacity of 14,000 tons of crushed stone. In 1929, the ship delivered a then-record cargo for the Lakes, when it carried 18,114 tons of limestone – enough for 300 railroad cars – for deposit in Gary, Indiana.

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Although the ship was the pride of the company and one of the busiest on the Lakes, 1958 had proven to be a bad year as a labor dispute had put the Bradley out of service for several weeks earlier in the season.

In addition, the ship had run aground twice in the past year, both incidents that went unreported. The Bradley was scheduled to receive a new hull in the 1958 off-season, but apparently that was already too late. There were rumors that the ship was full of rust and had to keep the pumps at full volume.

Even the captain, Roland Bryan, was concerned. In a letter to a friend he wrote, “This boat is getting too ripe for much weather,” while in another letter he wrote, “The hull is not good… I have to take care of her.”

In mid-November, the Bradley made its last run of the season – or so the crew thought. The ship dropped a load of limestone at Gary and headed for dry dock and planned repairs. The Bradley was only a few hours from port when Bryan received a call from the company, ordering another run from Rogers City.

This last-minute directive irritated crew members, who worried they might not make it home in time for Thanksgiving. But the Bradley carried out its mission and dropped off its cargo in Buffington, Indiana, on November 17. At half past eight that evening the Bradley cleared Buffington Harbor on its way back to Rogers City.

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The weather had then seriously deteriorated. A massive cold front moved across the Upper Midwest, dropping temperatures in Chicago by more than 20 degrees on the 17th. At 4 p.m. on November 18, winds on Lake Michigan were gusting at 60 miles per hour, with waves over 40 feet high.

Although the storm of November 1958 was one of the worst on the Lakes in recent memory, the men of the Bradley were not concerned as many had seen this kind of weather – or worse – before. With the ship now empty due to rough seas, it loaded its ballast tanks with 9,000 tons of water, hugged the Wisconsin coastline for most of the journey north, and finally turned deeper into Lake Michigan, near Gull Island in the archipelago at the northern bend of the lake. .

At 5:30 PM with the Bradley, 12 miles southwest of Gull, First Officer Elmer Flemming radioed to Rogers City saying they expected to arrive around 2:00 AM. He had barely uttered those words at 5:31 p.m. when a “loud thud” was heard, and the stern began to sink.

It was clear that the Bradley had suffered a major fracture and was breaking up. Contact with the ship was lost at 5:45 p.m., just 14 minutes later. There were several shouts of “Mayday” and a voice in the background, possibly Bryan’s, shouted for men to “run and get life jackets.”

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Nearby, the 250-meter German freighter Christian Sartori attempted to reach the site, but rough seas forced a 6.5-kilometer, 90-minute journey. The captain of the Sartori later reported seeing an explosion coming from the Bradley, likely the result of boilers exploding when mixed with the cold lake water flowing into the dying ship.

The famous Coast Guard cutters Sundew and Hollyhock were also ordered, but in the appalling conditions they were of little help. The captain of the Hollyhock later compared the seven-hour trip from Sturgeon Bay to “a visit to hell.”

Four men from the Bradley managed to reach one liferaft, and two of them were killed before the small craft was found by the Sundew at 8:37 am the next day. The two survivors, Flemming and 26-year-old sailor Frank Mayes, reportedly had icicles in their hair.

Ultimately, eighteen bodies were recovered and Rogers City, a small town of 3,873 residents, was rocked by the tragedy. Mass funerals were held as the community tried to come to grips with the disaster.

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As with many high-profile shipwrecks, the investigation was controversial and complicated. Although Mayes fervently repeated his story that the Bradley had ruptured, US Steel denied his testimony and ultimately fired him.

Adding to the controversy was a discovery by a Californian company hired by US Steel to inspect the wreck, an effort that claimed the ship lay in one piece at a depth of 330 feet. As a result, the investigation and subsequent media reports claimed that the ship was lost by “an act of God.”

Some modern observers believe that if the investigation had concluded that the Bradley was in two pieces, US Steel would have been accused of improper maintenance, with much higher liability. The company settled with the victims’ families for much less than they asked for.

In 1997, a dive confirmed Frank Mayes’ version that the Carl D. Bradley had in fact broken in half.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He can be reached at 217-710-8392 or [email protected].