AH-WR-0664

SS John Straub

Liberty Ship · United States · Lost 1944 · The Aleutians & the Bering Sea

A World War II Liberty ship that exploded and sank off Sanak Island in 1944, killing 55, in a loss the Navy long attributed to internal explosion rather than enemy attack.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1943 at Portland's Kaiser shipyard, the Liberty ship John Straub was carrying munitions and war supplies through Alaskan waters under Alaska Steamship Company operation when she was destroyed by a sudden explosion the night of April 18-19, 1944, off Sanak Island. The bow was pulled under within minutes; 55 of the 70 men aboard died. The Navy's official finding blamed an internal explosion, but surviving crew and later researchers, including the son of one of the lost sailors, argued the evidence pointed instead to a Japanese submarine attack that wartime secrecy may have obscured.

Vessel

Built: 1943
Builder: Oregon Shipbuilding Company
Yard: Portland, Oregon
Material: Steel
Length: 441 ft
Beam: 57 ft
Tonnage: 7176
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: War Shipping Administration, operated by Alaska Steamship Company

Loss

Date: April 19, 1944
Cause: Mechanical failure
Location: Off Sanak Island, Alaska
Water: Aleutian Islands approaches
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Munitions
Aboard: 70
Lives lost: 55
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Reported to have cracked in two before sinking.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 54.383° N 162.583° W
Accuracy: Surveyed position
Nearest: Sanak Island, Alaska
Region: The Aleutians & the Bering Sea

Alaska Shipwrecks database records the sinking position as 54°23'N 162°35'W, approximately 20 miles southeast of Sanak Island, per BOEM/USCG-derived compilation.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

The precise cause of the explosion, disputed between accidental internal explosion and possible enemy attack, is not conclusively established in the sources reviewed.