Scientists have found the wreckage of 'Ghost Ship of the Pacific' that was deliberately sunk 78 years ago. Photo

Researchers have found the lost wreckage of the 'Ghost Ship of the Pacific.' The World War II-era US Navy destroyer has been discovered 78 years after it was deliberately sunk.

The warship, officially known as the USS Stewart (DD-224), was found and photographed by underwater researchers off the coast of northern California. The ship is lying at a depth of 1066 meters, TheSun reports.

The USS Stewart was nicknamed the 'Ghost Ship of the Pacific' because of its unusual history - it served under both the American and Japanese flags.

The ship was damaged during a battle in February 1942. The crew tried to repair the vessel, which was sinking off the island of Java, but was forced to leave the USS Stewart as enemy forces were preparing to capture the island.

Later in the war, American pilots reported seeing what looked like an old American destroyer operating deep behind enemy lines. It turned out that the USS Stewart had been lifted from the water, repaired, and sent for use by the Japanese Navy.

At the end of the war, the ship was spotted in Kure, Japan. But it was returned to the US Navy and towed to San Francisco.

In one of its last missions for its country, the USS Stewart was used as a target ship, receiving attacks from aerial rockets, machine guns, and naval guns for over two hours before finally sinking at sea.

"The USS Stewart represents a unique opportunity to study a well-preserved example of early twentieth-century destroyer design. Its story, from US Navy service to Japanese capture and back again, makes it a powerful symbol of the Pacific War's complexity," said Dr. James Delgado, senior vice president of SEARCH, the company that participated in the project.

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