United States: The mysterious cargo ship “Arlington” that sank in 1940 was found at a depth of 200 meters in Lake Superior

In 1940, a U.S. merchant ship sank in Lake Superior during a storm near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and wreck researcher Dan Fountain announced on Monday that the 74-meter-long bulk carrier Arlington was found in about 200 meters of water about 60 kilometers north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.

April 30, 1940 – Port Arlington

On April 30, 1940, the Arlington departed Port Arthur, Ontario, with a cargo of wheat, bound for Owen Sound, Ontario, under the command of Great Lakes veteran Captain Frederick “Tattie Bugg” Burke. However, as the Arlington and the larger freighter Collingwood crossed Lake Superior, they encountered thick fog and then a storm after nightfall that struck both ships.

The Arlington began to take on water. According to the discoverer, the ship’s first mate ordered the Arlington to steer closer to Canada’s north coast, which would provide some cover from the wind and waves, but Burke countered the order and ordered his ship back across the open On the route of the lake.

May 1, 1940 – Arlington begins sinking

In the early morning of May 1, 1940, the Arlington began to sink, and the ship’s chief engineer sounded the alarm. They said in a statement that the crew began to abandon ship “out of fear for their lives and without orders from Captain Burke.” All crew members arrived safely on the Collingwood except Burke, who sank with the Arlington. Reports say he was last seen near the wheelhouse waving to the Collingwood before his boat disappeared into the lake minutes later.

The Wreck Association said in a statement that “no one will ever know the answer” to why Burke acted as he did before the shipwreck. “It’s exciting to be able to unravel yet another of Lake Superior’s many mysteries and find Arlington in the lake,” Fountain said in a statement. “I hope the final chapter of her story will serve as a great guide to Lake Superior.” Captain Gram’s family provides some measure of closure.”

arlington was discovered

Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, said the discovery of the Arlington was thanks to Fountain, a resident of Negaunee, Mich., who has been conducting remote sensing searches for wrecks in Lake Superior for about a decade. .

Fountain approached the group as a “potential target” near the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and discovered the Arlington last year. Lynn said. “These targets don’t always make sense…but this one is definitely a wreck. This wreck has an interesting and perhaps mysterious story,” he said in the statement. “If Dan hadn’t contacted us, we might never have found the Arlington.”

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