A lifeboat full of survivors from the ill-fated Andrea Doria
which is sinking in the background.
At 11:10 p.m. on July 25, 1956, 45 miles south of Nantucket
Island, the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria and the Swedish
ocean liner Stockholm collided in a heavy Atlantic fog. Fifty-
one passengers and crew were killed in the collision, which
ripped a great hole in the broad side of the Italian vessel.
Miraculously, all 1,660 survivors on the Andrea Doria were
rescued from the severely listing ship before it sunk late
the next morning.
Both ships were equipped with sophisticated radar systems,
and authorities were puzzled as to the cause of the accident.
The badly damaged Stockholm limped into New York
and offloaded its passengers, along with survivors
from the Andrea Doria. It proceeded to the Bethlehem
Steel Shipyard in New Jersey where it was fitted with
a brand new bow.
