By Tanda Gmiter | tgmiter@mlive.com

When the gales of November whip across The Great Lakes, the thoughts of mariners and Michiganders alike turn to the famous shipwreck that now lies in pieces at the bottom of Lake Superior.

For 42 years, she's kept most of her secrets with her in the dark.

The Edmund Fitzgerald, a mighty iron ore carrier made famous the world over by a namesake song, sunk with 29 men aboard during a hurricane-force gale on Nov. 10, 1975.

As another anniversary is marked, photos and a few pieces salvaged from the wreck are all that remain of a tragedy that has become a cultural touchstone for many Great Lakes lovers.

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Stern shot of the Edmund Fitzgerald in the St. Marys River not long before her sinking on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Roger LeLievre)

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The Mighty Fitz left Superior, Wis., on Nov. 9, 1975. The 729-foot freighter was loaded down with taconite pellets and was downbound for the Zug Island steel mill in Detroit.

A day later, the Edmund Fitzgerald was struggling against a fierce storm that enveloped Lake Superior. She sank without a trace amid 25-foot waves and 60 mph winds. All 29 men aboard perished.

Investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board identified the likely cause of her sinking on flooding in the hold due to faulty cargo hatch covers.

Others have theorized the 17-year-old ship may have had construction issues, or she may have grounded on a shoal earlier in the trip.

It's a mystery that will never be solved.

"Nobody is going to find the smoking gun," maritime historian and author Fred Stonehouse told MLive in a 2015 interview. "It really is solely a historical oddity at this point."

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The SS Edmund Fitzgerald launch at Great Lakes Engineering Works on June 7, 1958. (Courtesy | Detroit Historical Society)

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Undated photo of the Edmund Fitzgerald laden with cargo. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Roger LeLievre)

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SS Edmund Fitzgerald seen from the Ambassador Bridge. The vessel is underway (downbound) on the Detroit River in 1960. (Courtesy | Detroit Historical Society)

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Undated photo of the Edmund Fitzgerald downbound in the St. Marys River near Nine Mile Point. (Courtesy | Robert Campbell)

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The iron ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank to the bottom of Lake Superior during a hurricane-like storm on the night of Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Maritime Institute)

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The Edmund Fitzgerald was built at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge and launched in 1958. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Maritime Institute).

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The Edmund Fitzgerald was built at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge and launched in 1958. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Maritime Institute).

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Undated photo of the Edmund Fitzgerald among heavy vessel traffic in the lower Detroit River. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, William Worden)

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The Edmund Fitzgerald lost her original bow anchor in the Detroit River in 1974. The anchor was later raised and put on display at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Detroit. (Courtesy | Detroit Historical Society).

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum).

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum).

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum)

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum)

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum)

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Diver Bruce Fuoco making the final cutting of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck original bell stanchions (called a belfry) on July 4, 1995. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum)

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The U.S. Navy remotely operated vehicle CURV-III was brought in to survey the Edmund Fitzgerald wreckage in spring 1976. (Courtesy | Fred Stonehouse, U.S. Coast Guard)

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The Edmund Fitzgerald's recovered lifeboat after its recovery in 1975. (Courtesy | Sault Historic Sites, Museum Ship Valley Camp)

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The Edmund Fitzgerald sounding board spilt in two and covered in oil. It was part of the limited amount of debris found after the sinking. (Courtesy | Fred Stonehouse, U.S. Coast Guard)

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Life vests recovered after the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. (Courtesy | U.S. Coast Guard)

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The No. 2 lifeboat recovered after the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. (Courtesy | U.S. Coast Guard)

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An oil-splattered life ring from the Edmund Fitzgerald was among the limited debris recovered after the sinking. (Courtesy | U.S. Coast Guard, Fred Stonehouse).

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Sketch of the Edmund Fitzgerald from the 1977 U.S. Coast Guard marine casualty report.

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum).

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Sketch of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck site from the 1977 U.S. Coast Guard marine casualty report.

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Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell. The ship sank in a storm off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. (Courtesy | Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum).

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Sketch of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck site from the 1977 U.S. Coast Guard marine casualty report.

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Sketch of the stern section of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck from the 1977 U.S. Coast Guard marine casualty report.

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