U.S.S. Stewart

During my visit to the Cavalla at Seawolf Park, I took a little time to look through the Stewart.

Stewart was built at Brown Shipbuilding in Houston, about 50 miles from her final resting place.  The keel was laid on July 15, 1942 and the ship was commissioned on May 31, 1943.  Stewart initially served in training role, then an escort role with North Atlantic convoys for most of the war's remainder.  Her last war time role was as a training vessel based out of Pearl Harbor.

COMMENTS ABOUT THE VISIT :

Keep in mind that I visited the ship in October 2001 and that a lot of work may have been done on the ship since then.  At least I hope so.  The Stewart was a mess.  Extensive corrosion, dirt and vandalism.  It was also apparent that those responsible for her upkeep considered her more as playground equipment than an historic artifact.  Research on the web supports these casual observations by saying that much equipment originally on board when the ship was brought to her present location is missing and that even the mast is not original to the ship.

The good news is that there appears to be some activity and interest in restoring the ship.  A return trip will be made in the near future to see what has happened in eighteen months.