Obscure Bay Area: Once a sign of military strength, the eerie Suisun ghost fleet has disappeared

There were once 340 warships.

Standing proud on the water in Suisun Bay, ready to head out and protect the country in a time of national emergency. But there they sat, unmoved for decades, a floating phalanx on the horizon rusting into the bay, catching passing motorists' eye on 680.

The National Defense Reserve Fleet program started in 1946 at the end of World War II. At the time the Navy had a huge surplus of vessels from the war, and Suisun Bay became one of eight places around the coast where the warships were anchored.