The last mystery of an older U.S. Navy ship has finally been solved

The wreck of a World War II U.S. Navy warship that had a very interesting history during the conflict was finally discovered after decades of mystery shrouded its final resting place. Let’s take a look at what was discovered. 

According to a press release from the Air Sea Heritage Foundation, the final resting place of the USS Stewart was found by a team of investigators using unnamed state-of-the-art submersibles in August 2024. 

Photo Credit: Ocean Infinity

We’ll get into how the USS Stewart was discovered soon, but first, it's very important to understand the complicated history of the former U.S. Navy warship. Laid down in 1919, and commissioned in 1920, the USS Stewart had a rather unique past. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Public Domain

The USS Stewart was commissioned by too late to participate in the First World War, but it did find itself on the frontlines of World War II after the United States joined the conflict. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Robert W. Neeser, U.S. Navy, Public Domain

The Air Sea Heritage Foundation noted the USS Stewart was stationed in the Philippines in 1941 in Manila as a part of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet. However, this fleet was not up to the challenge of taking on the Imperial Japanese Navy. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By the Kabirup Studio, Manila, Public Domain

The U.S. Asiatic Fleet was an “understrength collection of old, largely obsolete warships” according to the Air Sea Heritage Foundation, and was “tasked with opposing Imperial Japan’s onslaught after its devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.”

Photo Credit: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command (NH 67242)

In February 1942, the USS Stewart was damaged in combat, and then a freak accident that occurred while the ship was in drydock in Java trapped the vessel as Japanese forces were preparing to take control of the island. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Public Domain, Public Domain

The USS Stewart’s crew was forced to abandon their ship on Java and the U.S. Navy destroyer was eventually seized by Japan and then pressed into service with the Japanese Imperial Navy.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Fotograaf Onbekend, CC0

The USS Stewart began sailing under the designation Patrol Boat No.102, and it didn’t take long for U.S. and Allied pilots to begin reporting strange sightings of an older U.S. destroyer operating deep behind Japanese lines. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Unknown Author, Naval History and Heritage Command, Public Domain

It was at this point that the USS Stewart was given its famous nickname: “Ghost Ship of the Pacific.” IT's important to remember that Allied pilots may not have known that the USS Stewart was captured by Japan.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Public Domain, Public Domain

The USS Stewart was taken back after the end of the Second World War. Discovered still afloat in Kure, Japan, the U.S. Navy was able to put an end to the very real mystery of the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific.” 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Fotograaf Onbekend, CC0 By U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Public Domain

The USS Stewart was recommissioned back into the U.S. Navy and was towed back to San Francisco. It was eventually given a kind of burial at sea and was sunk after being used for target practice by the Navy.  The ship went to the bottom of the sea. However, its final resting place remained a mystery for decades.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Public Domain

“More than 78 years would pass before it was found,” the Air Sea Heritage Foundation noted before explaining how 3 HUGIN 6000 autonomous underwater vehicles from the company Ocean Infinity were sent to search for the wreck of the USS Stewart. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By MKFI - Own work, Public Domain

The unmanned underwater drones were programmed “to simultaneously conduct an extensive and methodical scan of the seafloor that lasted 24 hours” according to the Air Sea Heritage Foundation. 

Photo Credit: Ocean Infinity

“When the data were retrieved, it revealed the stunning and unmistakable image of a sunken ship 3,500 feet below the surface,” the Air Sea Heritage Foundation added. That ship was the USS Stewart. 

Photo Credit: Ocean Infinity

The underwater mission was a collaborative expedition launched by Ocean Infinity, the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Naval History and Heritage Command. 

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Photo Credit: Ocean Infinity