Divers Find Bell of Andrea Doria

Bridge bell had been 'forgotten'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2010 2:43 PM CDT
Divers Find Bell of Andrea Doria
The massive anchor chain leading up to the prow of the Italian liner Andrea Doria, which sank on 26th July 1956 after a collision with the Swedish liner Stockholm.   (Getty Images)

A group of divers has stumbled upon the 75-pound bridge bell of the SS Andrea Doria, the massive Italian ocean liner that sank off Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1956. Two divers were just about to surface when they spotted a "very distinctive shape sticking out of the sand," says the leader of the expedition. They sent it to the surface with an inflatable device, then rang it for the first time in more than half a century, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

The aft bell of the ship was found back in 1985, but "this particular bell was just forgotten about; nobody was looking for it," the expedition leader said. "The bell is a prize." The divers still they haven't decided what to do with the artifact, which is legally their property, the leader added. They're "kind of dealing with some shell shock at the moment."
(More Andrea Doria stories.)

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