D. R. Hanna: Collision on Lake Huron

On May 16, 1919, the massive Great Lakes freighter D. R. Hanna was carrying a valuable cargo of wheat across Lake Huron when thick fog closed in near Thunder Bay Island.Somewhere ahead, another enormous freighter was approaching.The two ships could hear each other before they could see each other, relying on whistle signals to safely pass in the fog. Then one signal changed everything.In this episode of Lake Effect, we follow the troubled history of the D. R. Hanna, her earlier collisions and groundings, and the dramatic final voyage that brought two massive freighters dangerously close together on Lake Huron.A story of fog, steel, split-second decisions, and one of the strangest Great Lakes disasters of 1919.