Remembering The Andrea Doria

After the Titanic, the sinking of the Andrea Doria was the most dramatic peacetime sea disaster of the 20th century. Fifty years ago, on July 25, 1956, a collision with another ship doomed the Italian passenger liner — and triggered a frantic rescue effort for the more than 1,700 people on board.

For her time, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger, the Andrea Doria was top of the line. She was the pride of the Italian fleet — and the way to America for Antonio De Girolamo and his family, who were immigrating in 1956.

Just after 11 p.m., just off Nantucket, on July 25, 1956, the inbound Andrea Doria was rammed by the outbound ocean liner the Stockholm and started sinking.

But how could two ships, both with radar, collide in the open sea?

"There were always unfound facts about this situation — mysteries," Miller says.

The Andrea Doria was the larger, more modern ship and had plenty of time to steer clear. For years, people blamed the captain for the collision.

"He was known to wander the streets of Genoa mumbling all sorts of things," Miller says. "He never went back to sea again. He was completely in shock for the rest of his days."

But just a year ago, historians discovered that the Andrea Doria's rudder might have been defective — and that the shipping line was unwilling to fix it.