Modern Mysteries

Mystery car discovered in the wreck of US Navy vessel that sunk in 1942

By T.K. Randall
April 23, 2025 ·  3 comments

An underwater image of the mystery car. Image Credit: NOAA Commissioned in 1937, the USS Yorktown was a US Navy aircraft carrier that served during World War II before being sunk in 1942 by a Japanese submarine in the Pacific.

The precise whereabouts of the wreck had remained a mystery up until 1998 when they were discovered by Robert Ballard (the same oceanographer who located the wreck of the Titanic).

More recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been using remote-operated underwater drones to explore the wreck and capture photographs of its interior.

On April 19th, the team found something unexpected - a "surprise automobile" that remains within the vessel's cargo hold and about which there are no existing records.The car is believed to be a 1940-1941 Ford Super Deluxe 'Woody' - a vehicle which really shouldn't have been there at all.

When the ship was struck by Japanese torpedos, the crew had been ordered to jettison any heavy cargo in order to help keep the vessel afloat for as long as possible.

So whose car was this and why was it left on the ship ?

One theory is that it belonged to one of the senior officers and was used during business in foreign ports, though there is no record of the vehicle in the ship's manifest.

For now, at least, the story of how the car ended up on the ship is likely to remain a mystery.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine | Comments (3)

Tags: USS Yorktown