The SS William B. Davock was a lake freighter

Lake freighter

Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...

 that was part of the fleet of the Interlake Steamship Company. She was built in 1907 and sank with all hands in Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

 during the Armistice Day Storm

Armistice Day Blizzard

The Armistice Day Blizzard took place in the Midwest region of the United States on 11 November and 12 November 1940...

 on November 11, 1940. She was carrying a cargo of coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 from Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

 to South Chicago

South Chicago, Chicago

South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois.This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown...

. 32 persons were killed in the disaster.

The Davock today

The sunken hull of the Davock was discovered in May 1972, capsized in over 200 feet (60m) of water, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) off Little Sable Point Light

Little Sable Point Light

The Little Sable Point Light is a lighthouse located south of Pentwater in the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the southwest corner of Golden Township, just south of Silver Lake State Park.The lighthouse was designed by Col. Orlando M...

, not far from the wreck of the SS Anna C. Minch

SS Anna C. Minch

The SS Anna C. Minch was a cargo carrier which foundered, broke in two, and sank in Lake Michigan during the Armistice Day Blizzard on 11 November 1940. The Anna C. Minch was a steam powered, steel hulled bulk freighter constructed in 1903 by the American Ship Building Company at Cleveland,...

, which went down in the same storm. The light is located south of Pentwater, Michigan

Pentwater, Michigan

Pentwater is a village in Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 958 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Pentwater Township. Pentwater is home to Mears State Park. The name Pentwater comes from Pent or Penned up waters...

.