World War II Database

USS Stewart, already a long time veteran of the US Navy Asiatic Fleet by the time WW2 began in 1937, witnessed fighting from the front lines in Shanghai, China. Four years later when the United States finally entered the war, she participated in the earliest battles in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Damaged and unable to be evacuated in time, an attempt was made to scuttle her, but she would ultimately be raised and repaired by the Japanese. In Japanese service, she famously assisted in escort vessel Type D No. 22's sinking of American submarine USS Harder in Aug 1944. She was captured by the Americans after the war, and was sunk as a target off San Francisco, California, United States in 1946.

Russ Matthews of the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, who had determined the approximate location for the wreck, teamed up with Ocean Infinity which was in search of an opportunity to demonstrate the capability of its drone fleet. The discovery was made on 1 Aug 2024 in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary off of San Francisco, and 3 days later another drone descended to capture imageries of the wreck.

For more information:
New York Times: Wreck of "Ghost Ship of the Pacific" Found Off California
WW2DB: USS Stewart
WW2DB: Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java