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6 Famous Shipwrecks in History

Tap a ship to see the story of its sinking.

The Titanic

1912 β€” Called "unsinkable," the Titanic struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank, killing more than 1,500 people in what remains the most famous maritime disaster in history.

The Lusitania

1915 β€” Sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat during World War I, an event that played a major role in shaping American public opinion toward entering the war.

The Bismarck

1941 β€” Germany's most powerful battleship at the time, sunk after a dramatic pursuit by the British Royal Navy, a battle that remains an iconic episode in the naval history of World War II.

The Mary Rose

1545 β€” The flagship of England's King Henry VIII sank during battle; the wreck was raised in 1982, and the preserved hull remains on display in a British museum today.

The Vasa

1628 β€” Sweden's pride, a brand-new warship, capsized and sank before even leaving the harbor on its maiden voyage β€” and was raised in 1961 in remarkably intact condition.

The Edmund Fitzgerald

1975 β€” A cargo freighter that sank in a storm on North America's Great Lakes, an event famous enough to have inspired a well-known song.

Why Shipwrecks Still Captivate Us

The sinking of these ships transcended simple accidents, becoming stories that symbolize the era's overconfidence in cutting-edge technology, the brutality of war, or the cruel irony of fate β€” stories that continue to inspire films and documentaries to this day.

Can You Still See These Wrecks Today?

The Titanic was discovered resting deep on the ocean floor and has been extensively explored, while the Vasa and the Mary Rose were both raised and preserved, and their actual hulls can still be viewed in museums today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can these shipwrecks still be seen today?

The Titanic was found on the deep ocean floor and has been explored extensively, while the Vasa and the Mary Rose were raised and preserved, and their hulls remain on display in museums today.

Why did the Vasa sink before even leaving the harbor?

The leading explanation is that too many cannons and heavy decorations were added to the upper decks, raising the center of gravity dangerously high β€” a textbook case of a design flaw leading directly to disaster.