USS Kailua
Cable Ship · United States · Lost Sunk by the U.S. Navy as a target, exact date not established in sources reviewed · The Hawaiian Islands
A former global telecommunications cable ship, later a Navy target, found remarkably intact in 2,000 feet of water off Oahu with her wheel still standing.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Launched in 1923 as Dickenson for the Commercial Pacific Cable Company, the ship helped maintain a vital global undersea telecommunications network reaching Hawaii. Later acquired by the U.S. Navy and renamed USS Kailua, she was ultimately sunk by torpedo as a target vessel. In 2013, University of Hawaii and NOAA researchers piloting a submersible found her sitting upright in 2,000 feet of water off Oahu, her mast still standing and helm wheel still in place, an unusually well-preserved 'ghost ship.'
Vessel
- 1923
- Not established
- Chester, Pennsylvania
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam
- Commercial Pacific Cable Company; later U.S. Navy
Loss
- Sunk by the U.S. Navy as a target, exact date not established in sources reviewed
- Intentional sinking
- Approximately 20 miles off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii
- Pacific Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 2000 ft
- Remarkably intact, sitting upright with mast still standing and ship's wheel in place
- Upright
- 2013
- Not established
Position
- 21.30° N 157.90° W
- Approximate position
- Off Oahu, Hawaii
Position approximates the reported location roughly 20 miles off Oahu.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
The exact date of sinking and torpedo attack are not established in the sources reviewed.
University of Hawaii at Manoa (SOEST) press release
Discovery, identity, condition, and depth of the wreck.
Build history, former name, and Navy service.
