W.C. Franz
Bulk Freighter
Historic Research Collection

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GPS Location: N44°38.875’ W82°54.392’
Depth: 230 Feet
Wreck Length: 346 Feet Beam: 48 Feet
Gross Tonnage: 3748 Cargo: Light
Built: 1901 by Detroit Shipbuilding Co. at Wyandotte, Michigan
Wrecked: November 21, 1934
Description: Despite improved charts, navigational aids, designated shipping lanes, radio telephones, and eventually radar, big ships still go down in the Great Lakes. Such was the case when the freighter W.C. Franz was rammed by the freighter Edward E. Loomis during a heavy fog on Lake Huron. Franz went to the bottom with four crewmen. The wreck is largely intact except for the collision damage.