SS Peter Silvester, was an American merchant marine ship built for the United States Maritime Commission.

[5] On April 29, 1943, the ship, unescorted, was unsuccessfully attacked by Japanese submarine I-19 while en route from Espírito Santo to San Francisco, California.

It was reported that one torpedo went straight through the ship while the other detonated in the hold which ruptured the deck forward of the bridge and blew off the hatch cover.

Within two days, 15 survivors in a lifeboat were picked up by the American steam merchant Cape Edmont and landed at Fremantle, Australia on February 12, 1945.

[9] The last 15 survivors in another boat, adrift for 32 days, were rescued on March 9, 1945 by USS Rock (SS 274) and landed at Exmouth Gulf.