Wreck of World War II ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ discovered near California

The wreck of what was once known as the mysterious “Ghost Ship of the Pacific”, which fought on both sides of the Pacific Theater in World War II, has been found off the coast of California in “exceptional” condition.

According to researchers, the remains of the century-old Navy destroyer USS Stewart were found about 3,500 feet deep on the ocean floor in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary – about 50 miles off San Francisco. Announced in a press release this week,

Stewart was deliberately destroyed in a military exercise in 1946. Three autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) deployed by marine robotics company Ocean Infinity finally located the wreck in August after 78 years.

The AUV found the multi-storey ship within a 37-square nautical mile area of ​​the seabed.

“We covered it very quickly and in high resolution,” andy sherrellOcean Infinity’s Director of Marine Operations, told the New York Times,

The ship was laid down in Philadelphia in September 1919, a few months before the end of World War I, and commissioned in 1920.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Stewart was stationed in Manila, Philippines, with the rest of the aging and poorly equipped ships of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet.

The ship was damaged by gunfire during fighting by Japanese forces near Bali in February 1942 and due to a “freak accident” it ran aground in a dry dock in Java. As the Japanese prepared to attack the island, the crew decided to destroy the ship.

The Imperial Japanese Navy laid up the ship and renamed it Patrol Boat No. 102.

Soon, Stewart’s remote sightings led to rumors about an American “ghost ship” operating far behind enemy lines. It earned the nickname “Ghost Ship of the Pacific”.

The mystery was not solved until the Americans found the Stewart damaged but still floating in Kure, Japan, at the end of the war. According to researchers, the ship was commissioned in a ceremony and taken back to San Francisco, where it was violently “buried at sea.”

Stewart was submerged under a barrage of aerial rockets and naval gun fire for two hours before slipping beneath the waves for nearly 80 years.

This year’s joint effort by archaeological company SEARCH and non-profit organization Ocean Infinity Air/Sea Heritage FoundationThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Heritage Program and the US Navy led its rediscovery.

The ship was found in an incredible condition. The remains are largely intact and its hull rests upright on the floor of the seat.

“The USS Stewart presents a unique opportunity to study a well-preserved example of early twentieth-century destroyer design,” said the marine archaeologist. James Delgadoa senior vice president of search said in the statement.

“Its story, from US Navy service to capture by the Japanese and then return, makes it a powerful symbol of the complexity of the Pacific War,” he said.

High-resolution images from the ocean floor will help NOAA monitor what impacts the marine life in the area had and any ecological changes.

Data from the Stewart’s wreck will be handed over to the Naval History and Heritage Command to support future site management.