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    • World War II ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ wreck discovered
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    World War II ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ wreck discovered

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    A team of underwater investigators has found the wreckage of a U.S. Navy ship known as the Ghost of the Pacific off the coast of California.

    The USS Stewart, a Navy destroyer, was sunk as a target in May 1946. Now, a team from the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Naval Heritage and History Command, marine technology company Ocean Infinity and maritime archeology foundation Search Inc. have found the ship’s wreckage off the coast of Northern California.

    “Whether lost in combat or sunk as a target, a warship remains sovereign property in perpetuity,” Rear Admiral Samuel J. Cox USN (ret.), director of the Naval History and Heritage Command and U.S. Navy curator, responded to the discovery. “It is important to know the location and condition of such wrecks so that they can be protected from unauthorized disturbance in accordance with the U.S. Sunken Military Craft Act.”

    Search for the wreck

    Three Ocean Infinity autonomous underwater vehicles were launched on August 1 to spend a day scanning the ocean floor using sonar and multi-beam sonar systems. Analysis of the data collected revealed the unmistakable image of a ship – the USS Stewart – resting on the ocean floor at a depth of about 3,500 feet.

    “Preliminary sonar scans revealed that the Stewart is largely intact and that her hull – which is still slim and imposing – rests almost upright on the seabed,” the search team said in a statement. “This level of preservation is exceptional for a ship of its age, making it perhaps one of the best-preserved examples of a known U.S. Navy ‘Fourstacker’ destroyer.”

    After the initial discovery of the wreckage, the search team conducted a visual inspection using a remotely operated vehicle equipped with a camera.

    “The USS Stewart represents a unique opportunity to study a well-preserved example of early 20th century destroyer design,” said Dr. James Delgado, senior vice president of Search Inc.

    The unique story of the USS Stewart

    Of the thousands of naval ships that saw service during World War II, the USS Stewart may have one of the most unusual stories of all.

    Commissioned in 1920, the ship was stationed in the Philippines as part of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Damaged in combat in February 1942, the ship was being repaired on the island of Java when the crew was forced to abandon it before advancing Japanese forces.

    After raising and repairs, the ship was placed into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy. The occasional sighting of the destroyer, with its distinctly American design, operating behind enemy lines earned it the nickname “Ghost Ship.”

    (In 1945, when Japan was occupied at the end of World War II, the ship was found floating in Kure, Japan

    Recommissioned as USS Stewart, the old destroyer was towed back to San Francisco and sunk as a target ship the next year.

    “Its history, from U.S. Navy service to Japanese capture and back again, makes it a powerful symbol of the complexity of the Pacific War,” Delgado said.

    Max Hauptman is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected]

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    Madoc Meredith
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