an american submarine that made a horrible mistake during world war ii. accidentally sinking an enmy ship that had prisoners of war. >> and calling out in english. >> reporter: the lives saved by the crew. bay area explores discover a

sunken submarine. and more maritime secrets revealed. >> i never imagined you're walking on top of an ancient vessel. >> reporter: and some call her the titanic of the golden gate. now scientists say they know where she is. all straight ahead on a second look. hello everyone i'm frank somerville and welcome to a second look. the waters off the bay area are littered with the remains of sunken ships at least 200 according to the national park service. many relics of history are also moored on shore and one of those floating museums is at fisherman's wharf in san francisco. as george watson reported back in 2001, the submarine uss pompenito served during world war ii and during the war its crew accidentally made a horrible mistake. >> there she lays the uss pompenito the relish of war some 60 years gone.

today she's the fisherman wharf's tourist attractions. still preserved in a cocoon. but there will always be a mystery, men who take her down to wage war beneath the ocean's wave. >> we had to do a little crazy to begin with because who would want to live in the subhuman situation that you live in a submarine. because it's miserable living. >> reporter: in september of 1944, the pompenito with a crew of 49 set sail on its third war patrol. this time they were in route to the south china sea in the vast waters between the philippines and formoso. the mission was as written to attack japanese shipping any where and everywhere. the pompanito's most memorable action did involve the sinking of the ship.

early morning september 12, pompenito encounters the japanese convoy. at this moment a horrible mistake would reshape the history of the pompenito. >> two of these ships in the convoy were carrying british and australian prisoners of war. and they were on one of two ships torpedoed. >> reporter: 650 were picked up by the japanese and reshipped to labor camps. the rest were left to drip in the trackless south china sea. three days later, the pompepino came back through the attack area. and the look out spotted what seemed to be a makeshift raft, the crew was immediately suspicious. >> people in the water and sometimes japanese produce, people end up as decoys and underneath that would be submarine or some other vessel that was going to jump you.

>> conditionally we were thinking they were japanese survivors and we were going to shoot them off the ramp. that was the drill. and then one of the men stood up and started waving his big australian hat and calling out in english. >> reporter: it began to dawn on the submariners what had happened. quickly, the crew of the pompenito began to bring the survivors on shore. these gaunt desperate men, under nourished to begin with were suffering from malaria, berry, berry. the harshest imprisonment ever possible. 73 survivors came on board, overcrowded, almost beyond comprehension. regret, none. being torpedoed was suddenly the best thing that had happened to these men. >> they were sure they were going to die. first they were going to be

sent to work in a coal mine. which is pretty much a death sentence. very hot, no sanitation. they were torpedoed and drifted around for days, this submarine had brought them back to life. >> the pompenito's pharmacist maurice neighbors took care of the survivors as best he could. only one would die. soon they began to come around. for the first time in years they had moved out of the shadow of death and found life in the cramped under sea submarine that had drowned them. what could be so sweeter. a five days journey, by the time they arrived the men were rested, getting their strength back and even eating ice cream. pearl harbor would be the next stop for the former prisoners

of war on their long dreamt up journey home. the american submariners had after all taken good care of them. >> they were good to them and were pulling for them. and that, that is how you get in good condition too. someone gave you your life back, amazing. >> reporter: it would be hard to look at this aging creeking submarine floating benignly on fisherman's wharf. it would now be remember now as a lifesaver. still to come on a second look. >> we looked down and saw it. and-- >> an emotional moment for a bay area diver as he and his team discovered the wreckage of

a world war ii ship. >> it's remarkable. it's mind boggling. >> the sands of ocean beach reveal a secret. the story behind these wooden remains.

welcome back to a second look. it was described as the last great unsolved world war ii sinking in the pacific. a ship taken down by a suicide submarine. three bay area divers traveled to micronesia and found the ship's wreckage 120 feet below the ocean's surface. >> reporter: three bay area explorers have solved one of the mysteries of world war ii. at a pacific ocean, southwest of guam. chip lambert, his wife pam along with -- they succeeded in

where many others failed. >> it is the last unknown history of world war ii as far as ships literally disappearing after they were sunk and not being seen again. >> reporter: in late 1944, there were hundreds of ships that were part of the an enormous task force. gathering strength until the last push. >> there were 400 to 500 ships, 700 aircraft carriers at one time. enormous staging area for the naval fleet. >> reporter: the misesino a was part of it. on the morning of november 20, 1944, the misosenoa was asleep. seemingly secured. the death blow came in the

predawn quiet. sudden explosion shattered the beast. quickly followed by a second even more powerful one. 398 men on board literally did not know what hit them. >> it started at 6:00 in the morning with a big boom. two of them in fact. from then on i headed to the fantail and got off into the water. >> reporter: a giant plume of black oil filled the lagoon. 50 american sailors were killed. what made the sinking of this ship so different? what set this oiler apart from the destroyers and battleship and aircraft carriers that had been sunk during world war ii. the japanese called their suicide weapon cayten. in english that means heaven

shaker. the cayten was the direct descendent. the terrible devine. designed to inflict technological level. the japanese hope the cayten would do the same thing. designed and adapted from the lance torpedo. this reign of terror would not fall from the sky but come from beneath the sea. >> they cut out the middle section and put a crew compartment in there from a single pilot. gave them a small para scope. they launched him off the deck of a mother submarine. >> reporter: there were five caytons launched that morning. among the feast of resting ships, the sinowa was the only one hit. firefighters tried to control

the flames but the damage from the suicide torpedo and subsequent explosion of aviation fuel gave them only minutes to live. it would roll over, propellers in the air and slip away. out of sight and service for the next 57 years. but a few weeks ago a microbiologist by profession and amateur underwater explorer by desire, chip lambert set out to find the misosinowa. and in 150 feet of pristine clear blue water lagoon he found it. >> i looked down and saw it. and-- oh god -- it was very exciting. >> reporter: the misosenowa was an oiler, a cog in a great war machine. the day it was attacked and

sunk, the day where 50 men died, it fell to the ocean floor where their bodies remain. ships that sank outside the golden gate that can still be seen today. life's morning multitasking. it's multiple ideas for growing families and drawers with many layers to show exactly what you need. life's the food that brings us together. and kitchens where every meal is the most important of the day.

captures on camera, this film was shot in march of 1937. it shows the frank h. buck oil tanker sinking after it rammed head on into a luxury liner in thick fog outside the golden gate. the crew scrambled into lifeboats and everyone was saved. that year another oil tanker that ran aground could still be seen not far away although it

had been wrecked 15 years earlier. the linmen stewart was built in the same shipyard as the buck and now both lie in the bottom of lands end. the vessels can still be seen at low tide. there are also secrets that are often revealed to the surprise of those who visit the shore on a regular basis. bob mackenzie reported on the wooden remains of a shipper clip that came on board. >> i had no idea there was a clipper ship laying in the ground out here. >> it's kind of impressive isn't it. >> yes, it's mind boggling. >> reporter: these timbers are the bow. a bit of the stern can be seen about 300 feet away. >> how many times i had walked

on this beach on top of it and never saw this before. never even imagined you're walking on top of an ancient vessel. >> reporter: the king phillip had a gorgeous career. sailing from the east coast of the u.s. to the west coast. later on it had a some what less glamorous career as a lumber ship going back and forth between washington state and san francisco where it was owned by a lumber company. on january 25th 1878 the king phillip lost the wind offshore here was dragged in by the currents, couldn't get a grip with an anchor and was deposited on high tide by ocean beach. by low time the ship was sitting here never to sail again. the following day the ship was sold to a local salvager for $1,050. he blew the top off with blasting powder, took the metal parts and left the rest. the king phillip wasn't the

only ship to wreck along this coast. some ships were swept into the rocks, broke up and sank where they were or in other cases the pieces were washed ashores. others like the king phillip ended up on ocean beach to the dispair of their owners but the delight of sight seers. jim dixon has written a book about ocean beach. he says the stretch of shore along san francisco is hazardous. >> with the fog and the rocks and the current, the visibility and things like that. a piece of sunken history was found under the golden gate bridge last year. the city of chester, a wood and iron steam ship collided with another ship in august of 1888, 16 people were killed. john fowler reported, when the ship was discovered the finding offered historians an opportunity to finally set the record straight. >> federal scientists today released these ghostly high tech sonar pictures. you can see the city of

chesters whole outline. what's left of her steam engine sticking up. this is the images of the steam ship since it sank 125 years ago. >> every wreck like every person has a story. that speaks to us and connects to the heart as well as engages the mind. >> it was foggy that morning with swirling tides. the city of chester with 90 passengers steaming out the golden gate. the much larger oceanic coming in from asian most of the crew chinese. they collided right where this ferry is right now. the city of chester sank in six minutes, 16 people died. the deadliest ship accident in the bay. >> this gave me an opportunity to connect with maritime history. >> reporter: anti chinese racism was rampant and many people blamed the chinese crew men for the deaths. but the oceanic crew risked their own lives after the

collision. >> they saved many lives. there would have been more fatalities had it not been to the heroic actions. >> coming up, braving the waters of drake's bay. and the ship that was lost 150 years ago.

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scientists recently announced that they think they found the remains of the ss city of rio de janeiro. they announced they have 3d sonar images that pinpoint the site of the wreckage near fell's point. as john fowler reported, 128 people went down with that ship making it the deadliest maritime disaster at the golden gate. >> reporter: destination san francisco, an early morning in 1871, before radar, before computer navigation but the rocks were here. and the steamer city of rio de

janeiro from hong kong never made it. the rio trapped everyone inside as it sank in minutes right outside the golden gate. a handful survived and the legend grew that among the opium and silk lay a fortune of silver bars. it was out there some where, some where near the gate. many claim to have found san francisco's most famous wreck but all anybody found was a life ring now in the maritime museum. >> there's no silver on board. >> reporter: there's the rub, federal officials don't want it disturbed. >> because of her intactness, she's almost like san francisco's titanic. that type of integrity both as

an archaeological sight and the sanctity of her tomb they need to be respected. there's a ship wreck that have riches and a rich adventure. >> reporter: just north of san francisco, up the rugged coast lies one of the most important unrecovered treasures of the new world. guarded by sharks and frigid water, there waits a fabulous prize the end of a four century old story. it was a stormy november. the year 1595. spanish explorer rodriguez seveno gallied his ship just offshore here from what we call

drake's beach. they claimed this land for spain calling it the port of san francisco. suddenly a huge storm blew up, waves smashed the ship in the shallows. fortunately most of the crew survived and made it home but their cargo, treasures from the orient remain here. most of it still undiscovered. waves still occasionally wash ashore, tantalizing. this man says he has documents to prove it and a plan to bring it up. but salvaging in these

dangerous water require courage and serious politicking and not to mention the sharks. it's just the mission for bob marx who started looking for this wreckage a decade ago. >> i'm convinced had the the ship capsized more or less where i said it is about a quarter of a mile where it is offshore. some parts of rigging and mass went ashore between both of my documents. the main part is laying out there in 40, 50 feet of water. what we don't know is how much sediment is on top of that. the cold water should benefit the preservation of the deck. we may find a lot of the haul. we could even find the intact haul there. >> we don't believe that objects one found to the san agustin can be separated into public hands. they are public trust no matter who's jurisdiction they may lie in. secondly, we would like to learn more about some of the technical details of his approach. >> reporter: officials are expected to rule on the permits

soon. previous searches for this wreck reveal numerous possible sites. bits of porcelain known to have been on board still come ashore on the tide even today on drake's bay beaches. yet no one has been able to find the wreck although it's haul and cargo may be nearly intact under the water. >> the dive was great for a lot of reasons. first up we didn't get it and that's pretty good. and the visibility was great. eight, 12 feet. and the good news, it's very soft silt down there. that means we would need sonar. after we surfaced we learned fishermen had to drive off a white shark. it had been gnawing here just a day before. the sunken treasure is only part of the mystery. >> more importantly, someone had to camp on shore and that is the unsung story here. >> kelly and others say sur

survivors of the sam agustin buried some of their treasures on that beach and they claim they know right where it is. >> robert marx never did obtain the permits to recover the ship and in 1990 gave up trying. state and federal agencies put together a high tech search p roject. they didn't find either one and the san agustin remains listed as unlocated. that's it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. see you again next week.

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