Top Photo: High-resolution synthetic aperture sonar image of the USS Stewart. Ocean Infinity
The wreck of a US destroyer once known as “the ghost ship of the Pacific” has been found by undersea researchers off the coast of northern California.
The ship was located in August 2024 during a collaborative expedition between Ocean Infinity, the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, SEARCH, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Naval History and Heritage Command.
The USS Stewart, a Clemson-class destroyer, earned the nickname after having the unique distinction of serving under both the American and Imperial Japanese navies during World War II. The “groundbreaking discovery” of the shipwreck was found within the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an area consistent with historical accounts of its final disposal.
In 1941, the Stewart was stationed in Manilla as part of the US Navy’s Asiatic Fleet. The understrength collection of old, largely obsolete warships was tasked with defending against the Japanese after the Pearl Harbor attack.
The Stewart was damaged in combat in February 1942, and a “freak accident” trapped it in a repair drydock on Java. The crew abandoned the ship as Japanese forces prepared to seize the island.
The Japanese Navy raised and repaired the ship a year later and pressed it into service as Patrol Boat No. 102. Soon, Allied pilots began reporting the strange sight of an old American destroyer operating deep behind enemy lines.
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Being sunk as a target on 24 May 1946. She has already been bombed by aircraft and is now under fire by the 40mm single-gun mount in the foreground. The Japanese flag painted amidships reflects Stewart's 1943-1945 service as the Japanese Navy's Patrol Boat 102. She was recovered by the U.S. Navy after the end of World War II and recommissioned as USS DD-224 for the voyage back to the United States. The sailor on the left has the name “Johnson” on his shirt, and the one standing in the center has “Hickman” on his. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives
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Ex-USS Stewart, DD-224, arriving under tow in San Francisco Bay, California in early March 1946. She is flying a long homeward-bound pennant. USS Stewart
was damaged in a dry dock accident at Surabaya, Netherlands East Indies on 22 February 1942 and scuttled on 2 March. She was raised and reconditioned by the Japanese Navy in 1943 and served as their Patrol Boat No. 102 until the end of World War II. Recommissioned by the U.S. Navy as USS DD-224 on 29 October 1945, she was sunk off San Francisco as an aircraft target on
24 May 1946. Photo courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1977. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph -
Officers salute as the United States national anthem is played during recommissioning ceremonies on her foredeck, while she was moored in Hiro Wan, Japan on 29 October 1945. Her new commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Harold H. Ellison, is standing by the microphone in the right-center foreground. The ship had served during World War II as the Japanese Navy's Patrol Boat 102 and was recovered by the U.S. Navy after the war's end. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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DD-224 sinking after use as a target, 24 May 1946. The Japanese flag painted amidships reflects Stewart's 1943-1945 service as the Japanese Navy's Patrol Boat 102. She was recovered by the U.S. Navy after the end of World War II and recommissioned as USS DD-224 for the voyage back to the United States. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives
“It was not until the Stewart was found afloat in Kure, Japan, at the end of the war that the mystery of the Pacific ghost ship was finally solved,” a press statement from Ocean Infinity said.
The Stewart was recommissioned back into the US Navy in an “emotional ceremony” and was towed home to San Francisco. There, a “burial at sea” was performed as the Stewart was used as a target ship, absorbing fire from rockets and naval guns for more than two hours before sinking.
More than 78 years would pass before the ship would be seen again.
On August 1, 2024, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar were deployed by Ocean Infinity to search for the wreck of the Stewart. After a methodical scan of the seafloor for 24 hours, the data revealed “the stunning and unmistakable image of a sunken ship 3,500 feet below the surface.”
Preliminary sonar scans showed that the Stewart was largely intact, its hull resting nearly upright on the seafloor.
“This level of preservation is exceptional for a vessel of its age and makes it potentially one of the best-preserved examples of a US Navy ‘four-stacker’ destroyer known to exist,” Ocean Infinity said.
After the initial discovery, the team launched a camera-equipped remote-operated vehicle that transmitted live video from the sea floor.
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Image of the USS Stewart bow. Ocean Infinity
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Image of the USS Stewart bow. Ocean Infinity
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Image of the USS Stewart stern. Ocean Infinity
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Image of the USS Stewart stern. Ocean Infinity
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Multibeam image of the USS Stewart. Ocean Infinity
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Kevin Dupuy
Kevin Dupuy is a National Edward R. Murrow Award-winning digital producer who joined the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy in 2023.
