Chesapeake 1000 crane shown on March 29, 2024, being used in Maryland to assist in efforts to remove wreckage after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. (AP Photo/Brian Witte) ...

The Chesapeake 1000 is the largest floating crane on the Eastern Seaboard. The crane is being used to move a large piece of supporting steel from the bridge.

Chesapeake 1000 crane shown on March 29, 2024 being used in Maryland to assist in efforts to remove wreckage after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File) ...

There aren't many cranes that have a storied history like the Chesapeake 1000 — nicknamed "Chessy" — which has been brought in to clear Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The Chesapeake 1000 crane. "It was thought that there was at least one nuclear weapon aboard the sub," says Todd Bennett, an associate professor of history at East Carolina University.

The Chesapeake 1000 crane. "It was thought that there was at least one nuclear weapon aboard the sub," says Todd Bennett, an associate professor of history at East Carolina University.

FILE - The Chesapeake 1000 crane, which will be used to help remove wreckage from the collapse of the Key Bridge, is docked at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point, Md., March 29, 2024.

The Chesapeake 1000 crane. "It was thought that there was at least one nuclear weapon aboard the sub," says Todd Bennett, an associate professor of history at East Carolina University.

The Chesapeake 1000 crane. "It was thought that there was at least one nuclear weapon aboard the sub," says Todd Bennett, an associate professor of history at East Carolina University.