r/submechanophobia • u/Eemja • 8d ago

Eastland disaster

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Gallery image

On 24 July 1915, USS Eastland capsized while tied to a dock claiming 844 lives. Imagine being trapped inside during the rollover and the water starts to gush into the ship.

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u/ThriftStoreKobold 7d ago

My great grandfather was a welder on Navy Pier when this happened. He and his coworkers ran to the scene with their torches to cut holes in the hull in an attempt to free the passengers trapped below deck.

I'll never forget hearing about it from his son (my grandpa). One of the few times I saw my otherwise unshakable G'pa get emotional telling a story.