MOST FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS AND DISAPPEARANCES

Whether they fell victim to terrifying open ocean storms or were mysteriously lost, here are 3 of the most famous shipwrecks and disappearances.

1.The Vasa it was commissioned by the King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus in 1626. It was one of the first of her kind ever built: a warship with two full gun decks. The Vasa was supposed to be a testament to Sweden’s wealth and the King himself, so no expense was spared during her construction. It's original decoration would have been gilded, brightly painted, and ornately sculpted. It's hull was decorated with sculptures of Hercules, lions, and a sculpture of the King himself being crowned by two griffins. In short, it was gorgeous. So, what happened to the ship that was to be the “crowning jewel,” so to speak, of King Gustavus’ reign? it foundered 20 minutes into her maiden voyage. Basically, it was so poorly constructed it immediately filled with water. No one died, because it was less than a mile from shore. The only damage was to the King’s ego and treasury.

2. The Titanic It was advertised as “unsinkable,” which is why a surprising amount of people didn’t believe it was even going down when it collided with an iceberg. She was impressive in every way. it stood 175 feet tall and was 882 feet long. It was gilded and gorgeous, outfitted with expensive finishes, artworks, and expertly trained staff. However, it only took 2 and a half hours to send her 13,000 feet beneath the waves. There were approximately 3,400 people aboard the Titanic on her maiden voyage and it had only enough lifeboats for one-third of her passengers. When it sank, the lifeboats were boarded, but many left without being at full capacity, leaving passengers stranded in the water or trapped on the ship. The water was also below freezing and rescue ships took over three hours to reach the site of the tragedy, so many of her passengers perished from the elements. In total, 68% of the crew and passengers did not survive the accident; yet, had all the lifeboats been filled to capacity, that number could have been 53%.

3. The Lusitania After over 200 successful crossings of the Atlantic, the Lusitania was sunk in just 18 minutes by a German torpedo. During her time, the Lusitania was an engineering marvel. It could reach speeds of 25 knots and was outfitted with electric lights, luxury furnishings, and was the largest passenger ship until the Mauretania was built. On May 7, 1915, it was carrying 1,962 people, including over 600 crew members. Most believe it was by complete coincidence that the Lusitania crossed paths with U-20. But in the midst of World War 1, the U-Boat gave the order to torpedo Lusitania’s hull. The damage was so quick and complete that only six lifeboats were launched successfully. After less than 20 minutes, the ship was 300 feet below the surface and only 764 people on-board survived.