Discovered an 80-year-old shipwreck at the bottom of the lake

The SS Arlington and its captain sank into Lake Superior on May 1, 1940. Recently, after more than 80 years, a group of shipwreck hunters discovered the remains of this ship.

According to ATI, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum released this information, saying the discovery was made by shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain, who studied remote sensing data while hunting for sunken ships in Lake Superior. In the century.

Fountain contacted the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), which then worked with Fountain to locate the 74-meter-long cargo ship SS Arlington about 198 meters above the water, just north of the Peninsula Keweenaw of Michigan (USA).

Discovered an 80-year-old shipwreck at the bottom of the lake Picture 1 Discovered an 80-year-old shipwreck at the bottom of the lake Picture 1

SS Arlington. Photo: ATI.

The final voyage of the SS Arlington

The SS Arlington left Port Arthur, Ontario (Canada), on April 30, 1940, loaded with wheat and ready to set sail for Owen Sound, Ontario. Under the command of Captain Frederick 'Tatey Bug' Burke, who had crossed the lake many times, the merchant ship set sail in a thick fog.

A larger cargo ship, the Collingwood, also departed across Lake Superior that day, but as night fell, the thick fog turned into a major storm.

As rain lashed both ships, Arlington's first mate Junis Macksey ordered the crew to bring the ship closer to shore. However, Captain Burke refused and instead requested that the ship stay on its original route.

At about 4:30 a.m. on May 1, 1940, the Arlington began to sink and chief engineer Fred Gilbert sounded the alarm. Lacking orders from Captain Burke but fearing for their lives, the crew of the Arlington abandoned ship - and fortunately, everyone survived and made it aboard the Collingwood. Everyone except Captain Burke.

Soon after, an investigation was launched regarding the sinking of the ship . For example, why did Captain Burke make the strange call to take the ship into more dangerous waters? And why did he sink with the ship even though he could have easily escaped it like his crew did?

Unfortunately, the investigation did not find answers to these questions. Captain Burke even stood and waved to the crew as the Arlington sank.

However, the discovery of the SS Arlington wreck after decades can answer some questions about the unanswered questions about this ship's sinking.