Wreck of WWII destroyer known as the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific” found off California coast
A team of investigators says they have found the wreck of the USS Stewart, a U.S. Navy destroyer that served under both American and Japanese flags during World War II before it was deliberately sunk in a 1946 naval exercise.
The USS Stewart, once called the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific,” served on the front lines of World War II. It was stationed in Manila as part of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet, according to a news release detailing its discovery, and was damaged during combat in February 1942. A freak accident trapped it in a repair drydock on Java, an island in Indonesia, and the ship was abandoned as Japanese forces approached. It was then pressed into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy as a patrol boat. Allied pilots reported seeing the ship serve in the Japanese fleet, earning it its nickname.
Donald M. McPherson / U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command
The vessel was later found in Kure, Japan after the war and recommissioned into the U.S. Navy. The ship was towed home to San Francisco and used as a target ship in one final act of service, according to the news release.
Kerry Breen
Source: cbsnews.com