SS Carl D. Bradley

The SS "Carl D. Bradley" was a self-unloading Great Lakes freighter. Built in 1927 by the American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio, the "Bradley" was owned by the Michigan Limestone division of U.S. Steel, and operated by the Bradley Transportation Line.

The Bradley was named for Carl David Bradley, who was president of Michigan Limestone at the time. It was honored in 1943 by being the first Lake freighter to pass through the new MacArthur Lock, part of the Soo Locks.

The "Bradley"'s registered port was New York, however, her true home was at Rogers City, Michigan, where Michigan Limestone was based. As the boats of the Bradley Transportation fleet were often out and back home every few days, many of the crews made their homes and raised their families in Rogers City.

On the evening of November 18, 1958, after unloading a delivery of stone at Gary, Indiana the previous day, the "Bradley" was upbound on northern Lake Michigan with water ballast when she encountered a storm with 65 mile per hour winds and convert|20|ft|m|sing=on waves. The ship was about convert|12|mi|km southwest of Gull Island when, around 5:30pm, the hull began breaking in two. The first mate managed to radio three separate transmissions of mayday before the power lines aboard the ship were severed in two. An order was given to abandon ship but the "Bradley" sank before any life saving craft could be effectively launched.

Alerted by a distress call, United States Coast Guard air and surface units and other commercial vessels searched for survivors throughout the night and into the next morning. At 8:25am on November 19, the USCG Cutter "Sundew" located the "Bradley"'s forward life raft convert|5|mi|km northeast of Gull Island with two survivors aboard — First Mate Elmer H. Fleming, 43, and Deck Watchman Frank L. Mays, 26. Throughout the night and the following days, the "Sundew" and other vessels recovered 18 bodies, many of which were brought to city hall in Charlevoix, Michigan for family identification. In all, 33 crewmen lost their lives.

In August 2007, divers John Scoles and John Janzen removed the "Bradley's" bell and returned it to Rogers City, where it was restored and unveiled in a ceremony held the weekend of the 49th anniversary of the "Bradley" sinking. Curators plan to toll the bell again on the 50th anniversary of the sinking. A memorial bell engraved with the names of the lost crew was placed back on the Bradley two days after the original bell was removed.

Victims

The following men were lost in the sinking. Unless noted, all resided in Rogers City, Michigan. † denotes body not recovered.

*Carl R. Bartell, 25; Third Mate
*John L. Bauers, 30; First Assistant Engineer †
*Douglas J. Bellmore, 34, Onaway, Michigan; Porter †
*Duane W. Berg, 25; Deckhand †
*Alfred F. Boehmer, 32; Second Assistant Engineer
*Richard J. Book, 26, Portsmouth, Iowa; Deckwatch
*Roland O. Bryan, 52, Loudenville, New York; Master †
*Alva H. Budnick, 26; Watchman
*Raymond G. Buehler, 59, Lakewood, Ohio; Chief Engineer †
*William T. Elliott, 26; Repairman
*Clyde M. Enos, 30; Cheboygan, Michigan; Stokerman †
*Erhardt O. Felax, 47; Stokerman
*John F. Fogelsonger, 31, St. Ignace, Michigan; Second Mate †
*Cleland E. Gager, 30, Onaway, Michigan; Oiler
*Paul A. Greengtski, 23, Posen, Michigan; Watchman †
*Paul C. Heller, 45; Stokerman
*Paul R. Horn, 21; Oiler
*Dennis M. Joppich, 19; Wiper †
*Raymond J. Kowalski, 31; Wheelsman
*Joseph Krawczak, 35; Wheelsman
*Floyd A. MacDougall, 26; Oiler †
*Dennis B. Meredith, 25; Metz Township, Michigan; Deckhand †
*Melville W. Orr, 35; Watchman †
*Alfred G. Pilarski, 30; Second Cook
*Gary N. Price, 21, Onaway, Michigan; Deckhand
*Leo J. Promo, Jr., 21; Asst. Conveyorman
*Bernard J. Schefke, 19; Porter
*Keith H. Schuler, 34; Third Assistant Engineer †
*James L. Selke, 18; Porter †
*Gary L. Strzelecki, 21; Deckwatch
*Earl P. Tulgetske, Jr., 30, Wheelsman †
*Edward N. Vallee, 49; Conveyorman
*John Zoho, 63; Clairton, Pennsylvania; Steward

References

* [http://ul.bgsu.edu/cgi-bin/xvsl2.cgi Great Lakes Vessels Online Index: "Carl D. Bradley"]

External links

* [http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/moa/boards/carlbradley.pdf United States Coast Guard Report] "(Requires Adobe Acrobat)"
* [http://home.comcast.net/~greatlakesshipwrecks/Page1.html Carl D. Bradley homepage]
* [http://www.boatnerd.com/bradley/x97im.htm Expedition 97's Bradley Photos]
* [http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0shipping--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4---Document-dky--0-1l--1-en-50---20-about-morrell--001-011-1-0utfZz-8-0&a=d&c=shipping&cl=CL1.3.23&d=HASH015e0506632530e6b16c03d8 University of Detroit Mercy - Carl D. Bradley]