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This post is about a car and a shipwreck...

1956 Chrysler Norseman

Designed under the supervision of Chrysler styling chief Virgil Exner, the Norseman showcased a number of distinctive features, but arguably the most spec­tacu­lar was its fully canti­levered roof, reportedly conceived by Chrysler stylist Bill Brownlie. With no A or B pillars, the top was supported entirely by the buttress-like C pillars, aided by a pair of thin steel rods in tension at the forward edge of the panel.

The designers were concerned about the per­ceived practi­cality of the design, particu­larly the pro­tec­tion that the roof would afford pas­sen­gers in a roll­over. Quarter-inch steel rods located where the A-pillars would have been held the roof in tension; in a rollover, the theory went, they would snap, allowing the roof to spring upward. A Chrysler engineer worked with glassmaker PPG Industries on the development of a crush-resistant windshield.

On July 17, 1956, the completed Norseman was loaded onto the luxury liner Andrea Doria in Genoa, Italy and headed to New York City. Typically, all passenger cars were placed in the garage section of the Andrea Doria. These cars would have been placed onto the ship by use of a crane and meticulously parked in the garage and arranged strategically for stability. However, unlike the rendition shown in this painting, the Norseman was specially packed and treated with extra care. It was placed in a wooden crate and loaded in the number two cargo area.

On the night of July 25, 1956, blanketed in a fog so thick that it pre­vented seeing from one side of the ship to the other, the liner steamed at reduced speed toward its destination, sounding its fog whistle every 100 seconds as crew members strained at the radar screens. The Stockholm, too, was pro­ceed­ing cau­tiously, having left New York for Göteborg, Sweden, with 534 passengers and 215 crew members aboard.

 

Each ship knew of the other's presence, yet they collided, the Stockholm's bow making a deep gash in the Andrea Doria's star­board side, and ripping apart her watertight compartments. Though no cause was for­mally deter­mined, evi­dence has since come to light that that the Stockholm's radar operators had tragically misread the display, believing it was on the 15-mile setting when, in fact, it was on the 5-mile scale.

The Andrea Doria remained afloat for 11 hours, long enough for other ships in the area to respond to its SOS. All of her surviving pas­sen­gers were evacu­ated. Con­sid­ering the scope of the incident, it was a miracle that only 51 people died as a result of the collision. Five were on the Stockholm, and forty six were on the Doria. The Stockholm was repaired and still sails today under the name Astoria.

 

I lifted this copy from several sources, but the two links below had the most info...

Shipwrecked: The Story of the Chrysler Norseman

Deep-Sixed Dream Car - Chrysler Norseman