1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: show that pierces the fog of history one day at 4 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: a time. I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: looking at the sinking of the Andrea Doria, a maritime 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: disaster brought about by the mysterious collision of two ships 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: in a heavy Atlantic fog. The day was July twenty fifth, 8 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six. The Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria and 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: the Swedish ocean liner Stockholm collided off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. 10 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: The Italian vessel took the brunt of the impact, with 11 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: the Stockholm's reinforced steel bow plunging thirty feet into its hull. 12 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: The late night collision killed fifty one passengers and crew, 13 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: forty six from the Andrea Doria and five from the Stockholm. 14 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: The Swedish liner emerged more or less unscathed, but the 15 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: Doria was left with a gaping hole in its starboard side. 16 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: The survivors on board had no choice but to abandon 17 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: the badly listing ship, and while their evacuation had plenty 18 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: of close calls thanks to the help of the Stockholm 19 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: and several other ships that came to assist, all one thousand, 20 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: six hundred and sixty lives were saved. During the postwar 21 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: boom of the nineteen fifties, Transatlantic crossings enjoyed a massive 22 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: surge and popularity. By the middle of the decade, more 23 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: than fifty passenger liners were steaming back and forth between 24 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: Europe and the US on an almost weekly basis. The 25 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: MS Stockholm went into service in nineteen forty eight, a 26 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: few years shy of when the boom took full effect. 27 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: As a result, the ship was fairly modest in size 28 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: and accommodations, having been designed with speed and efficiency in 29 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: mind rather than luxury. The SS Andrea Doria, on the 30 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: other hand, was first put to sea in nineteen fifty 31 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: three and had been purposely designed as one of the 32 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: most opulent ships to ever sail the Atlantic. The Italian 33 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: liner was built to take advantage of the sunnier southern 34 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: route across the Atlantic. All of its cabins and public 35 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: spaces were fully air conditioned, and it was the first 36 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: liner to sport three outdoor swimming pools, one for each 37 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: class of passenger. One of the most unique features of 38 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: the Andrea Doria was the extensive collection of paintings, tapestries, 39 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: and surrealist murals that decorated the walls of its public 40 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: rooms and first class suites. It was an extravagant expression 41 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: of Italy's artistic heritage and quickly earned the ship a 42 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: reputation as a kind of floating art gallery. You might 43 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: imagine that the clear focus on esthetics may have led 44 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: to some oversights when it came to safety, but the 45 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: Andrea Doria was actually well equipped to handle most disasters. 46 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: It had plenty of lifeboats, eleven watertight compartments, and a 47 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: state of the art radar system to detect nearby ships 48 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: and other obstacles. In just three years at sea, the 49 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: Doria safely completed one hundred Transatlantic crossings, but then on 50 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: its one hundred and first voyage in nineteen fifty six, 51 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: that track record was tragically broken. The ship had set 52 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: out from Genoa, Italy, on July seventeenth, carrying one thousand, 53 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: seven hundred and six passengers and crew. It stopped in 54 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: three ports in the Mediterranean and then headed out into 55 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: the open ocean on a nine day voyage to New 56 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: York City. Eight blissfully Uneventful days later, on July twenty fifth, 57 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: the Andrea Doria was nearing its final destination and the 58 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: Stockholm was just leaving New York on its journey back 59 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: to Sweden. The Italian vessel had encountered heavy fog throughout 60 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: the day, but Captain Piero Kalamai only reduced his speed 61 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: a little, trusting that his ship's radar would safely guide 62 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: them through. Meanwhile, aboard the Stockholm, captain h Gunner Nordensen 63 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: decided to head north from his usual route in the 64 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: hope of reducing his travel time. The Stockholm's new course 65 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: was a risky move, as it increased the likelihood of 66 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: crossing paths with westward vessels, especially on a dark, foggy night, 67 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: but the Swedish ship had a radar system of its own, 68 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: and the captain was confident it would identify any approaching 69 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: ships no matter how bad the weather got. The two 70 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: captains reliance on radar wasn't entirely misplaced, as both ships 71 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: did show up on the other screens prior to impact. 72 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: The Andrea Doria identified the Stockholm at ten forty five pm, 73 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: and the Swedish liner was about seventeen nautical miles away. 74 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: Then a few minutes later, the Italian ship showed up 75 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: on the Stockholm's radar, roughly twelve miles away. In most cases, 76 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: that would have been more than enough time for the 77 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: ships to change course and get out of each other's way, 78 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: but for some unknown reason, neither did. Despite many hours 79 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: of testimony after the accident, there's still no consensus on 80 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: what happened next. The prevailing theory is that both ships 81 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: somehow misread their radar screens and wrongly assumed which way 82 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: the other was turning. Each captain thought he was mirroring 83 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: the other ship's movements, when in reality they were turning 84 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: straight toward each other. There likely still would have been 85 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: time to correct the mistake once the ship's lights came 86 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:51,919 Speaker 1: into view of each other, that is, if it weren't 87 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: for the fog. Captain Kalamai didn't realize he was on 88 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: a collision course with the Stockholm until the ship emerged 89 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: from a fog bankless than one mile away. By that point, 90 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: it was too late for either ship to turn in time. 91 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: At eleven ten PM, the two liners collided about forty 92 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Stockholm's angled bow 93 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: tore deep into the starboard hull of the Andrea Doria, 94 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: and for a few moments the ship stayed locked together 95 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: as one. Then the opposite momentum of the two ships 96 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: forced them apart again, sending the Stockholm's bow scraping along 97 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: the side of the Doria. Five crewmen of the Stockholm 98 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: were killed instantly, but all of its seven hundred and 99 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:43,239 Speaker 1: forty seven passengers survived. Those on the Andrea Doria weren't 100 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: as lucky. The bow of the Swedish ship had acted 101 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: as a battering ram, crashing its way through passenger cabins 102 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,919 Speaker 1: and killing forty six people in the process. One man 103 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: could do nothing but watch in horror as his wife 104 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: was carried away by the moving bow, and fourteen years 105 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 1: old Linda Morgan would have suffered the same fate, except 106 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: the impact launched her out of bed onto the bow, 107 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: sparing her from being crushed by it. She was later 108 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: nicknamed the Miracle Girl by the press. The Stockholm's bow 109 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: had torn open seven of the ten decks on the 110 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: Andrea d'ria, compromising its watertight compartments and flooding the ship. 111 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: As it filled with water. The doomed vessel began to 112 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: lean more than twenty degrees to port, making it impossible 113 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: to evacuate using the lifeboats on the port side. Thankfully, 114 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: there was still one thousand, forty four usable lifeboats for 115 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: the ship's remaining one thousand, six hundred and sixty passengers. 116 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: The true challenge was finding a way to get to 117 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: those lifeboats. Passengers on the lower decks had to navigate 118 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: through darkened hallways flooded with ocean water and leaking oil. 119 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: It took a long time for most people to make 120 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: their way to the top deck, and as a result, 121 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: the first lifeboat wasn't deployed in till a full hour 122 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: after the collision, and when it was, it contained more 123 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: crew members than passengers. Thankfully, the Stockholm was still seaworthy 124 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: after the collision and was able to use its lifeboats 125 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: to help with the evacuation. The Andrea Doria also sent 126 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: out a distress signal requesting any ships in the area 127 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: to lend their lifeboats right away. What followed was one 128 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: of the largest maritime rescues ever made during peacetime. Two 129 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: nearby vessels were able to quickly reach the sinking ocean liner. 130 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: The first was a freighter called the Cape Ann which 131 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: took one hundred and twenty nine of the surviving passengers. 132 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: A US Navy ship, the Private William H. Thomas, took 133 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: another one hundred and fifty nine, and the Stockholm, badly 134 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: damaged but still afloat, took five hundred and forty five. 135 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: Then at two a m. A massive French liner called 136 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: the Ill de France arrived on the scene and took 137 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: the remaining seven hundred and fifty three passengers. The ships 138 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: began ferrying the survivors back to land right away, with 139 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: the Doria still afloat behind them, ready to capsize at 140 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: any moment. In the end, the ship didn't fully sink 141 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: beneath the waves until ten o nine that morning, roughly 142 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:19,680 Speaker 1: eleven hours after the deadly collision. The Doria's final resting 143 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: place quickly became a popular destination for scuba divers, or 144 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: at least for those skillful and daring enough to reach it. 145 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: The ship came to rest at the bottom of the 146 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean at a depth of about two hundred and 147 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: fifty feet, a realm of unpredictable currents and plenty of 148 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: hungry sharks. Because of that extreme depth and other dangers. 149 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: The wreck of the Doria has been dubbed the Mount 150 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: Everest of diving sites, and to date, more than a 151 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: dozen divers have died trying to conquer it. The debate 152 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: over the cause of the collision between the Andrea Doria 153 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: and the Stockholm was never settled. The blame for the 154 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,959 Speaker 1: fatal error was pinned on both ships at different points, 155 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: but the extensive investigations launched in the wake of the 156 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: crash never reached a definitive conclusion. What we do know 157 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: for certain is that, thanks to the rapid response of 158 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: nearby ships, the wreck of the Andrea Doria was a 159 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: far less deadly disaster than it could have been, And 160 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 1: when it comes to maritime disasters, that's about as happy 161 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: an ending as you could hope for. I'm Gabe Lucier 162 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,920 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 163 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep 164 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 165 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 166 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: any feedback you'd like to share, you can always pass 167 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: it along by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 168 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays and Ben Hackett for producing the show, 169 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 170 00:10:53,920 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class. The Pact, 171 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:01,599 Speaker 1: The p