San Pablo
Refrigerated Cargo Ship · United States · Lost 1944 · The Gulf of Mexico
A former banana boat destroyed in a secret 1944 U.S. weapons test, long known to Pensacola divers as the "Russian Freighter."
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Launched in Belfast in 1915, San Pablo spent decades hauling fruit between Central America and the United States. Torpedoed by a U-boat off Costa Rica during World War II and refloated, she was towed to the Gulf and destroyed off Pensacola in August 1944 in what was later revealed to be a classified U.S. military weapons test. Wartime rumor dubbed her the "Russian Freighter," a name that stuck long after the truth was declassified.
Vessel
- 1915
- Not established
- Belfast, Ireland
- Steel
- 315 ft
- 44 ft
- Not established
- Steam, single screw
- Not established
Loss
- August 11, 1944
- Intentional sinking
- About 9 miles off Pensacola, Florida, Gulf of Mexico
- Gulf of Mexico
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- No casualty figures for the 1944 test destruction were found in sources reviewed.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 60-80
- Scattered, broken wreckage
- Not established
- Not established
- Part of the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail
Position
- 30.189° N 87.218° W
- Surveyed position
- Pensacola, Florida
Position published by the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Precise casualty details, if any, connected to the 1944 test destruction are not established in the sources reviewed.
Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail
Sinking date, dimensions, coordinates.
Wartime history, declassified test-sinking account, maritime archaeologist commentary.
