Shipwreck hunters discover WWII-era vessel that sank 84 years ago
A WWII-era ship has been discover at the bottom of Lake Superior nearly 84 years after it vanished during a ferocious storm.
In a news release, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) announced the discovery of the 244-foot bulk carrier Arlington, Daily Mail reported.
The ship was found north of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, buried beneath 650 feet of water.
The historical society's interest was piqued when shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain detected an abnormality while combing through remote sensing data.
In 2023, Fountain joined GLSHS Director of Marine Operations Darryl Ertel and the crew of the R/V David Boyd as they inspected the anomaly with sonar, finding that it was indeed a shipwreck.
Later dives positively identified the submerged craft as the Arlington. The discovery came nearly eight and a half decades after it sailed off from Port Arthur, Ontario, carrying wheat to Owen Sound.
Commanding the Arlington was Frederick 'Tatey Bug' Burke, who had embarked on many prior voyages across Lake Superior.
The crew was met with rolling fog and even encountered a larger freighter, the Collingwood, as they began to cross the water.
But a storm began to build once night fell, pummeling both ships. Water began to accumulate inside the Arlington.
Junis Macksey, the ship's first mate, ordered that they reroute to hug the Canadian North Shore, which would provide some defense against the furious wind and roaring waves.
In a move that is still questioned by historians today, Burke ordered the ship back on course.
At around 4:30 am on May 1st, 1940, Chief Engineer Fred Gilbert sounded the alarm: the ship was going under.
When the captain failed to provide orders to abandon ship, the crew began to jump overboard on their own.
Everyone made it onboard the Collingwood, with the exception of Burke, whose erratic behavior remains a mystery.
'Why did he go down with his ship…when he easily could have been saved like the rest of his crew?' GLSHS wrote in the release. 'The fact is no one will ever know the answer.'
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