The wreck of the ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ has been found on the California ocean bed, eight decades after its historic role in World War II.
Found almost 3,500 feet beneath the water’s surface, the wreck of the ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ was discovered through powerful robotic sonar technology after 82 years.
The 314-foot-long ship was identified to be the only US Navy Destroyer that was captured by Japanese forces during World War II, known as the DD-224 or USS Stewart.
Another set of drones managed to capture images of the wreck days later, finding it sitting upright and ‘almost perfectly intact’, reported the New York Times.
The level of preservation is ‘exceptional’ for a ship of its age, according to superintendent of the Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones national submarine sanctuaries.
‘[This] makes it potentially one of the best-preserved examples of a US Navy ‘four-piper’ destroyer known to exist,’ she continued.
Found almost 3,500 feet beneath the water’s surface, the wreck of the ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ was discovered through powerful robotic sonar technology after 82 years
The wreck of the DD-224 was said to be found in almost perfect condition, potentially making it one of the first of its kind to be so well preserved
The 314-foot-long ship was identified to be the only US Navy Destroyer that was captured by Japanese forces during World War II
The ‘Ghost Ship’ was known as the DD-224 or USS Stewart
Russ Matthews said: ‘The whole history of that ship was actually exceptionally well documented. The only piece of that story we didn’t have is, what does it look like today?’
The drones used to locate the historic shipwreck have become a valuable asset fo researching the history of our oceans.
In 2018, Ocean Infinity developed and deployed the largest fleet of marine robotics to collect subsea data.
‘Using the latest remote and robotic technology, we provide scientists and research institutions with vast quantities of data to help them make important decisions and to aid their understanding of the changing ocean landscape,’ wrote Ocean Infinity.
The company also helped find the wreck of the USS Nevada in 2020, which escaped Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and was one of the US Navy’s longest-serving battleships.
The drones, orange and torpedo-shaped, serve to collect high resolution data using sonars that create high-resolution maps of the seafloor. The same technology is used for projects such as wind farms, oil rigs or laying undersea cable and pipelines.
Senior Vice President, Jim Delgado, of SEARCH Inc, the leading global organization in maritime archaeology, told the New York Times: ‘We’re in the midst of, I think, a radical change in Ocean discovery.
Delgado was part of the search for the DD-224 for a decade as the director of maritime heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees more then 620,000 square miles of underwater parks in the US.
The company’s research to understand and predict changes in weather, climate and oceans and coasts is part of their effort to educate as well as conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.
Russ Matthews, president of the nonprofit Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and a member of the discovery team, told the New York Times: ‘The whole history of that ship was actually exceptionally well documented. The only piece of that story we didn’t have is, what does it look like today?’
Matthews and Sherell, the director of maritime operations at Ocean Infinity, collaborated to test the biggest autonomous drones to locate the DD-224.
The drones, orange and torpedo-shaped, serve to collect high resolution data using sonar that create high-resolution maps of the seafloor
The data gathered by Ocean Infinity now makes up the best map of that portion of the Cordell Bank sanctuary
Sherrell said that mapping a region of 37 square nautical miles, which was the search area for the DD-224, typically takes weeks but with the drones the ship was spotted within hours.
Now, the data gathered by Ocean Infinity makes up the best map of that portion of the Cordell Bank sanctuary.
The Stewart received two battle stars for her service in WWII. She began when she joined the Destroyer Squadron, Atlantic, in 1921 where she was sent to the Philippines for a 23-year mission.
In October 1945, the Stewart was recommissioned by the US Navy and nicknamed ‘RAMP-224’ before her engines gave out and she was sunk off San Francisco
The USS Stewart began when she joined the Destroyer Squadron, Atlantic, in 1921, and received two battle stars for her service in WWII
As war broke out in 1937 between Japan and China, Stewart was stationed along Chinese ports before World War II led her back to the Philippines.
She was lead ship of the second group against Japanese forces and came under several vicious night-time attacks.
Stewart sustained damage to her torpedo racks and galley, as well as a shot below the waterline that flooded the engine room with two feet of water.
Despite being able to continue operating, she was severely damaged and wasn’t supported well enough on the Surabaya floating drydock she was docked at during repairs. As the dock rose, she fell onto her side in 12 feet of water that caused further damage to the hull and propeller shafts.
A Japanese bomb caused even more damage before the ship’s port was eventually evacuated.
Later in the war, reports of an American warship operating in enemy waters came through after Japanese forces had repaired the Stewart in 1943 until arriving in Kure in 1944.
She was lead ship of the second group against Japanese forces and came under several vicious night-time attacks
Stewart sustained damage to her torpedo racks and galley, as well as a shot below the waterline that flooded the engine room under two feet of water while still operating
After sustaining large amounts of damage, the Stewart was docked in a floating drydock where she overturned into the water and was repaired by Japanese forces and was being used in enemy waters
In April 1945, she was bombed and damaged by US forces and was eventually found again in August of the same year.
In October 1945, the ship was recommissioned by the US Navy at Kure and nicknamed ‘RAMP-224’ for ‘Recovered Allied Military Personnel’ before her engines gave out near Guam.
She was decommissioned in May 1946 and sunk off San Francisco as a target for aircraft after two hours of gunfire.
Dr. Delgado said: ‘This ship, in its own way, basically was humanized by the Navy. People pour so much into ships – and we have since the beginning of time. They represent us.’
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