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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 10, 2017 23:53:19 GMT -5
25 Tragic Losses at Sea Boats, ships, ocean liners, warships, and every term in between; for whatever reason these mighty vessels fascinate us. And their stories are all the more fascinating when they end up sinking, and we mourn the loss of those who didn't survive. In this list, we take a look back at some of the most tragic losses at sea, from ships sunk in battle, to freak accidents and everything in between. Out of respect to those who lost their lives, this list is not presented in any form of "ascending" or "descending" order; it is simply a look back at 25 of the most tragic losses at sea.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 0:00:25 GMT -5
25) HMAS SydneyOn November 19th, 1941 the Australian Cruiser HMAS Sydney fought the German Auxillary Cruiser Kormoran in an engagement that resulted in both ships being sunk. All 645 men aboard the Sidney died, and her wreck remained undiscovered until 2008.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 0:05:42 GMT -5
24) HMS BarhamOn November 25, 1941 the British Battleship HMS Barham was sunk by the German submarine U-331. 2/3 of her crew perished in the sinking; the rest rescued by allied destroyers. Her sinking was captured on film; forever immortalizing the final moments of the battleship.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on May 11, 2017 0:21:27 GMT -5
23) The EssexThe Essex was a whaler from Nantucket which was sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. What puts it on the list is the fact that the survivors were forced to eat their dead crewmates, and when that ran out, cannibalized seven of the remaining survivors before they were rescued. It's a horrific thing to go through, to say the least. (The sinking of the Essex, interestingly enough, helped Herman Melville to write Moby Dick years later.)
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 0:27:39 GMT -5
22) USS JuneauA light cruiser in the US Navy, on November 13, 1942 she was sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Of her compliment of 673, only a little more than 100 survived the torpedo attack that doomed her. The resulting explosion was so great, nearby allied ships assumed there were no survivors and sailed away. 8 days later, only 10 of the Juneau's crew were pulled from the water alive. Among the saddest stories is that of the five Sullivan brothers- George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert all served on the Juneau, and all were lost. Their story was part of the inspiration for the 1998 Epic Saving Private Ryan.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on May 11, 2017 0:52:04 GMT -5
21) Mary CelesteOK, I know what you're thinking - "Was the Mary Celeste really a tragic loss?" Well... yes. On December 5, 1872, the Mary Celeste was found floating adrift without a single person on board. When it first departed, there had been several people on the ship, including women and children, who all apparently vanished. The most famous case of a derelict in the history of ships, this mystery has yet to be solved, but one can only wonder as to what happened to all those on board...
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 1:00:05 GMT -5
20) MV Wilhelm GustloffOn January 30, 1945 the converted ocean liner was sunk by a Soviet Submarine. Requisitioned for the German Navy first as a hospital ship, and later a refugee evacuation ship, the ship was carrying as many as 10,000 on board when she sank. There were only 996 survivors, and estimates suggest more than 9,000 people died, mostly civilians, including women and children. To this day, it is the largest loss of life by the sinking of a single ship.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 23:17:26 GMT -5
19) PS General SlocumOn June 15, 1904 this paddle steamer caught fire and sank in the East River in New York City. More than 1,000 people died in the tragedy; the worst disaster in New York by loss of life prior to the 9/11 attacks. 321 people survived, including 35 of the 40 crew. The captain was found criminally negligent for failing to maintain proper fire drills and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 23:24:51 GMT -5
18) RMS Empress of IrelandOn May 29, 1914 in the St. Lawrence River the RMS Empress of Ireland was rammed by the cargo vessel Storstad and sank in 14 minutes. 1,012 people lost their lives, including more than 130 children. There were only 465 survivors. The high death toll is partly attributed to the fact that most of the passengers were asleep at the time, and and didn't even wake up during the collision. On the starboard side, many drowned in their own cabins.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 11, 2017 23:31:12 GMT -5
17) MV Doรฑa PazOn December 20, 1987 the Philippine ferry collided with the oil tanker MT Vector, catching fire and sinking. The overcrowded ferry was improperly manned, and the fire that started on the tanker engulfed the ferry in a matter of minutes. Of the estimated 4,400 people or so aboard the ferry, only 24 survived, plus 2 of the 13 crewmen from the Vector.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on May 22, 2017 15:46:10 GMT -5
16) SS Marine Sulfur QueenThe SS Marine Sulfur Queen disappeared in February of 1963 near the southern coast of Florida, and with it were 39 crew members who also were never seen again. For years, the ship's disappearance was used to help prove of the existence of the Bermuda Triangle; however, unlike most incidents there, this one has an explanation. The Sulfur Queen was a terrible ship, deemed unseaworthy, and should never have even attempted sailing. A wife of one of the crew members who went down with the ship said that it was hard watching her husband depart, considering the state the ship was in. Also unlike most Triangle disappearances, wreckage was indeed found of the SS Marine Sulfur Queen. So in short, it sank because of its terrible condition, not because of supernatural forces - which makes it all the more tragic.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 22, 2017 16:41:39 GMT -5
15) SS Edmund Fitzgerald
On November 10, 1975 this Great Lakes freighter sank in a severe storm, taking all 29 of her crew with her. Her wreck was discovered split in two, and has since become a protected site to honor the dead. Making this all the more tragic, had the freighter had gone just 15 more miles, it would have made it to the safety of Whitefish Bay. To this day, no one is quite sure what sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, but we remember her to this day thanks to the Gordon Lightfoot song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 22, 2017 17:20:08 GMT -5
14) MV Princess of the StarsOn June 21, 2008 the Philippine ferry Princess of the Stars capsized in Typhoon Fengshen off the coast of the San Fernando, Romblon. Of the approximately 750 or so people on board, there were only 57 survivors. When the ship hit rough waters the order was given to abandon ship and a distress signal sent out. Survivors recalled that the crew were more concerned with saving themselves than saving the passengers. The disaster sent shock all over the world, with international responses from the United States, who pledged aid to the country for help in recovery efforts, and the Pope said he felt deep emotion upon hearing the news.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 22, 2017 17:28:23 GMT -5
13) SS KiangyaThe steamship was packed beyond capacity with refugees who were fleeing the People's Liberation Army. But on December 3/4 1948 (no one is quite sure exactly when the disaster occurred) disaster struck when an internal explosion sank the ship, killing anywhere from 2700 to 3900 people. Between 700 and 1000 were rescued by other ships. One of the most accepted theories is that it was sunk by a mine, leftover from the Japanese occupation in World War II
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 22, 2017 17:37:45 GMT -5
12) SS Princess SophiaOn October 25, 1918 the coastal liner sank in a terrible storm, having grounded on Vanderbilt Reef and sinking afterwards. None of the estimated 343 people on board were saved; the only survivor was a dog, and by the time rescue ships were able to get close only the forward mast was above the water. Part of the reason no one was saved was because the terrible conditions meant rescue ships could not get close.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on May 22, 2017 22:10:10 GMT -5
11) SS WaratahTime for another mystery of the sea with you're old pal 1,000 Eyes. A 500-foot long cargo liner steamship disappearing with all 211 men onboard? Yep, it happened. In July of 1909, the SS Waratah, en route from Durban to Cape Town, disappeared and was never found again. To this day, no one knows what happened to it, though speculations run rampant.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 22, 2017 23:05:21 GMT -5
10) HMHS Britannic
The third of the Olympic-class liners, Britannic was to be the grandest and most luxurious of the trio of ships that included the ill-fated RMS Titanic. But alas, Titanic's sister ship fared no better. On November 21, 1916 while traveling in the Aegean Sea the ocean liner turned hospital ship struck a mine and sank in 55 minutes. Fortunately, thanks to lessons learned from the sinking of her sister 4 years previously she stayed afloat long enough to launch most of the lifeboats and of the 1,066 on board there were only 30 deaths. The real tragedy is actually the legacy left behind. Britannic was meant to be the epitome of luxury and safety following the loss of Titanic. What was supposed to be a symbol of grandeur cemented the legacy of the Olympic class liners for their losses at sea. She never even carried a paying passenger; her entire life was devoted to the war effort. With the loss of Titanic and Britannic, only the Olympic would go on to have a career, serving well into the 1930s. Even though there weren't as many deaths, the loss of Britannic is, in some ways, just as tragic as the loss of Titanic.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on May 22, 2017 23:11:50 GMT -5
9) USS ScorpionAbout time a submarine made the list. On May 22, 1968, the USS Scorpion, a Skipjack-class nuclear submarine, was lost. Though eventually found, all 99 crewmen onboard did indeed perish in the incident. It was actually one of four mysterious submarine disappearances of that year.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on May 22, 2017 23:15:31 GMT -5
8) Battleship Yamato
On April 7, 1945 the Imperial Japanese Navy, in a desperate last attempt to drive the Americans away from Okinawa, launched Operation Ten-Go, sending the Battleship Yamato plus a screen of one light cruiser and 8 destroyers on a suicide mission- beach on Okinawa and become an unsinkable fortress against the enemy. While it is true that the Japanese were the "bad guys" in WWII, the greater context reveals the tragedy of her sinking. One a symbol of Japanese military might and technological advancement, the Battleship Yamato could not keep up with the technological advancement of World War II and in the end could not compete with the very ships that rendered the battleship obsolete- aircraft carriers. Indeed, it was 386 American aircraft from 11 aircraft carriers that sealed Yamato's fate, sinking her in a devastating air attack that killed 3,055 of her 3,332 man crew. The fact that Yamato is an archaic name for Japan makes the loss all the more significant; indeed, some historians regard the sinking of Yamato to be the symbolic end of the Japanese Empire
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on May 22, 2017 23:26:55 GMT -5
7) USS CyclopsOn March 4, 1918, the USS Cyclops sailed away from Barbados headed towards Baltimore, Maryland, and was never seen again. Lost with 306 crewmen on board, this was a truly head-scratching event, and a tragic one for those on board and their families at home. The loss of the USS Cyclops helped pave the way for the legendary place we now know as the Bermuda Triangle, but even stranger is that two of her sister ships disappeared as well (the fourth one actually was converted and became the first aircraft carrier of the US navy).
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