SS Montebello
Tanker · United States · Lost 1941 · San Francisco & the Northern California Coast
An oil tanker torpedoed off the central California coast two weeks after Pearl Harbor, sunk with no loss of life.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Montebello was a Union Oil tanker built in 1921. On 23 December 1941, hours out of Port San Luis with a cargo of crude oil, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the central California coast. All thirty-eight men aboard got away in the boats and pulled ashore near Cambria. The tanker sank in deep water, where surveys since the 1990s have found her upright and largely intact.
Vessel
- 1921
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- 440 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, single screw
- Union Oil Company
Loss
- December 23, 1941
- Enemy action
- Off Cambria, San Luis Obispo County, California
- Pacific Ocean off central California
- Port San Luis, California → Vancouver, British Columbia
- Crude oil
- 38
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 900 ft
- Upright and largely intact in deep water; surveyed by remotely operated vehicle.
- Upright
- 1996
- Not established
Position
- 35.60° N 121.28° W
- Approximate position
- Cambria, California
Position given for the surveyed wreck area offshore of Cambria.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (84/100)
California State Lands Commission
Wreck surveys, depth, hull condition and cargo assessment.
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Loss circumstances and the wartime context of the sinking.
