A century-old US Navy Destroyer that was once the center of a mystery for Allied pilots was recently located just off the coast of the Bay Area. The ship—called the USS Stewart—was discovered in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary about 30 miles from the coast as part of an ongoing search for the lost ship.
The ship was intentionally sunk in 1946 after serving in WWII. The ship was commissioned in 1920 and was on the front lines of WWII starting in 1941 in Manilla. By 1942 the ship had been damaged in combat leaving the crew with no choice but to abandon it. Eventually, the US Navy ship would be repaired and used as a ship for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The old USS ship was an odd sight within the Japanese Navy, drawing the attention of Allied pilots, which referred to it as the “Pacific ghost ship”.
After the war ended, the ship was found and returned home to San Francisco. The ship’s last hours were as a target ship, taking on machine guns, aerial rockets, and more before eventually sinking to the ocean floor. Now, decades later the ship has finally been found.
The search for the Stewart started in early 2024 and was found due to the collaboration of several organizations, including Ocean Infinity America, the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, and SEARCH. The exploration was approved by the NOAA and the US Navy, and the search for the historic ship began. Unmanned submarines were deployed using sonar to look for the ship. Upon finding the wreckage, a sonar survey was conducted before deploying a remote control vehicle with a camera. The ship’s hull was found to be surprisingly intact and is one of the best preserved Destroyers today.
“The USS Stewart represents a unique opportunity to study a well-preserved example of early twentieth-century destroyer design. Its story, from US Navy service to Japanese capture and back again, makes it a powerful symbol of the Pacific War’s complexity.” said ” Dr. James Delgado of SEARCH in a press release.
The ship still sits on the ocean floor, over 3,000 feet below the surface. Data from the exploration will be passed on to the NOAA to help better protect the sanctuary the ship was found in.