SS Carl D. Bradley
SS Carl D. Bradley
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| History | |
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| Name: | Carl D. Bradley |
| Owner: |
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| Operator: |
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| Port of registry: |
 United States |
| Builder: | American Shipbuilding, Lorain, OH |
| Yard number: | 00797 |
| Launched: | April 9, 1927 |
| Christened: | July 28, 1927 |
| Completed: | Early summer 1927 |
| Maiden voyage: | July 27-28th 1927 Lorain, OH to Rogers City, MI |
| In service: | July 28, 1927 |
| Out of service: | November 18, 1958 |
| Identification: | Registry number US 277437 |
| Nickname(s): | Carl D. |
| Fate: | Lost in a storm on November 18, 1958, with 33 out of 35 crewmembers lost |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Lake freighter, self-unloader |
| Tonnage: | 10,028 GRT |
| Length: | 639 ft (195 m) |
| Beam: | 65.2 ft (19.9 m) |
| Depth: | 30.2 ft (9.2 m) |
| Installed power: | 4,800hp |
| Propulsion: | General Electric high and low pressure Steam Turbines turning electric motors to a single fixed pitch propeller |
| Speed: | 14-16mph |
| Capacity: | 14,000tons (stone) 12,000tons (coal) largest cargo 18,114 tons (stone) |
| Crew: | 35 |
| Notes: | Second vessel to carry this name. The first SS Carl D. Bradley was renamed SS John G. Munson in 1927 and SS Irvin L. Clymer in 1951. |
The SS Carl D. Bradley was a self-unloading Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Michigan storm on November 18, 1958. Of the 35 crew members, 33 died in the sinking and 23 were from the port town of Rogers City, Michigan. Her sinking was likely caused by structural failure from the brittle steel used in her construction. She was the sister of the ill-fated SS Cedarville.
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. She retained the title of "Queen of the Lakes" for 22 years as the longest and largest freighter on the Great Lakes.
The Bradley Transportation's fleet of self-unloading ships was used to haul limestone from the Michigan Limestone quarry in Rogers City, Michigan. The Bradley was built to meet Michigan Limestone's lucrative contract with a cement firm in Gary, Indiana. By 7 feet (2.1 m), she was longer than the second largest ship on the Great Lakes and her engine had almost twice the power of engines installed in most freighters. At 639 feet (195 m), she was the longest freighter (and the largest self-unloader) on the lakes for 22 years. Later the AA class of U.S. Steel-owned freighters was roughly the same size as the Bradley but shorter in length by just inches. The Bradley retained the title "Queen of the Lakes" until the launch of the 678 feet (207 m) SS Wilfred Sykes in 1949.
The Bradley began as Hull 797 in 1923 at the American shipbuilding Company in Lorain, Ohio. She was launched in Lorain on April 9, 1927. She was outfitted with her fore and aft housing in the ensuing months until her maiden voyage when Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Bradley, the community band, and hundreds of people from Rogers City greeted her the first time she steamed into the Calcite harbor on July 28, 1927. The Bradley was named for Carl David Bradley, who was president of Michigan Limestone. Bradley declared that the new ship was "the last word in freighter construction."
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