A 75-year-old mystery has been solved, and the families of 80 American sailors lost at sea will now have closure: the U.S.S. Lost World War II Submarine Rediscovered 75 Years Later - Popular Mechanics USS Grayback discovered in Japanese waters, 75 years after it went How the most successful submarine in US Navy history ended up sinking itself. Here are some of the many other notable events attributed to Grayback: The Grayback left Pearl Harbor for the last time on Jan. 28, 1944, on its way to the East China Sea for its 10th war patrol. The submarine sits upright on the bottom in 1,400ft (430m) of water. Through the latter half of 1942, the Grayback damaged several freighters and was a general menace to enemy escorts, submarines and shipping vessels. The USS Grayback was discovered more than 1,400 feet under water about 50 miles south of Okinawa, Japan, in June by Tim Taylor and his "Lost 52 Project" team, which announced the finding Sunday. Her fifth war patrol began as Grayback sailed from Australia on 7 December 1942. It seemed that when the translation was initially done in 1949, the last known latitude and longitude of the USS Grayback was mistranslated or incorrectly recorded by one digit, resulting in the location of the submarine being wrong by 100 miles. While patrolling the Pacific and the South China Sea, she was incredibly successful in hunting enemy shipping. In all, the Grayback sank more than a dozen Japanese ships. After Iwasaki found the discrepancy, an expedition led by Project 52s Tim Taylor, used drones to search the seabed to physically locate the wreckage based on the new set of coordinates. In September-October 1943, the Grayback formed the first of the Submarine Forces highly successful wolfpacks, referring to a mass-attack tactic in which the Grayback, the USS Cero and the USS Shad teamed up to sink 38,000 tons and damage 63,300 more worth of material on enemy convoys. Her newly installed SJ radar had failed to function, and although she had taken several shots at maru merchant ships, none sank. North Carolina Class (46,700 Long Tons) . The unexpected discovery within the USS Grayback During the Second World War, 52 US submarines were lost, taking the lives of 374 officers and 3,131 sailors. In the five and a half years of the war, German shipyards built 1,156 U-boats, of which 784 were lost from enemy action or other causes. On 12 February, she was sent orders to patrol the area running east and west between Luzon and Formosa from that date until sunset 20 February . USS Grayback, submarine missing for 75 years, found off Japan It is my hobby, and also my passion.. Three hours later, she surfaced and sank a second freighter. Whats The Difference Between Dutch And French Braids? The Grayback was slated to arrive in Midway in March, but never arrived and was listed as "presumed lost" by the end of the month. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. The Grayback was damaged on Jan. 17, 1943, by a depth charge and had to go back to port at Brisbane, Australia, for repairs. After waiting . In a matter of hours, Mr. Taylor was looking at the hull of the Grayback and, lying about 400 feet away, was the submarines deck gun, which had been blown off when the bomb exploded. What happens to dead bodies on submarines? A team of ocean explorers discovered the likely resting place of 80 U.S. sailors presumed dead when one of the most successful American submarines of World War II sank after leaving Pearl Harbor more than 75 years ago. According to Japanese reports, the submarine exploded and sank immediately, but antisubmarine craft were called in to depth-charge the area, clearly marked by a trail of air bubbles, until at last a heavy oil slick swelled to the surface.". The crew of the Grayback was determined to rescue the airmen, and two crew members went ashore on the 5th January, while the submarine submerged to avoid detection. As they recovered the drone, Mr. Taylor said, half of his crew started getting the ship ready to return to port, thinking that the vehicle was likely to be beyond quick repair. The Grayback was responsible for sinking a fleet tanker and two transport ships, including one already damaged by the Shad. "We are grateful for their sacrifices, and we will never forget our veterans. I just could not believe it."I wish my parents were alive to see this, because it would certainly make them very happy, he added. Try it free! In a night surface attack, Grayback fired a spread of six torpedoes at the seven freighters and their three escorts. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. A sonar image of the USS . In May 1943, it was credited with sinking the Japanese cargo ship Yodogawa Maru and the freighter England Maru, seriously damaging the destroyer Yugure with torpedoes and damaging two other freighters. [16] The bow is broken off at an angle, and a portion of the hull near the stern imploded. Ten days later, on March 7, the submarine USS Grayback failed to return to Pearl Harbor from her tenth war patrol as scheduled. That morning, she had sunk tanker Nanho Maru and severely damaged Asama Maru. So far, they've found five of 52 subs. In that radio record, there is a longitude and a latitude of the attack, very clearly, Mr. Iwasaki said. The report for that day said that a Nakajima B5N carrier-based bomber had dropped a 500-pound bomb on a surfaced submarine, striking just aft of the conning tower. The Grayback was one of the most successful submarines of World War II, but it never returned from its last mission in late February 1944. The USS Grayback chugs along above water circa 1941. A sonar image of the USS Grayback at a depth of 1,400 feet. Undersea explorers Tim Taylor and his wife Christine Dennison discovered the warship back in June and spent months searching for relatives of its crew who perished. The action began on the night of 18 to 19 December; Grayback attacked a convoy of four freighters and three escorts. Announcing the discovery of the USS Grayback on June 5th, 2019 by Tim Taylor and his "Lost 52 Project" team. In a video taken by the vehicle that surveyed the wreck, Mr. Bihn said, the camera tilted upward at one point to show the conning tower, and a plaque reading U.S.S. [14] The deck gun was found about 400ft (about 120m) from the primary wreckage.[15]. The presence of Grayback and her sister ships in these waters, and the threat they presented to shipping and the number of enemy escorts they tied up, were important factors in the successful conclusion of the Guadalcanal campaign, America's first offensive campaign in the Pacific war. The team has found at least four other subs and is determined to discover, survey and create 3-D documentation of the final underwater resting places of the more than 40 remaining missing subs. Video USS Grayback discovered 75 years later - ABC News An official website of the United States Government, Seventy-five years after a U.S. Navy submarine sank in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, the family members of its, One of the first photos of the USS Grayback under 1,400 feet of water after it was discovered off the Okinawa cost on June 5, 2019. Uncovering the history of those ships necessarily brought him into contact with records on submarines. She was due to return to Midway by the 7th March 1944, but she failed to return. The mystery began on Jan. 28, 1944, when the Grayback, one of the most successful American submarines of World War II, sailed out of Pearl Harbor for its 10th combat patrol. He set up the privately funded Lost 52 Project to track down the rest, relying on technology that had become available only in the last 10 to 15 years. Submarine Losses, World War II.. Read about our approach to external linking. With no body to bury, Mr Bihn's grandparents, Patrick and Catherine King . If so, I would assume normal ocean decomposition. The Lost 52 Project is a group of people that are dedicated to finding the 52 submarines from the US Navy that were lost during WWII and never located. 336, March 1945, Last edited on 17 November 2022, at 23:46, List of United States Navy losses in World War II, "Lost World War II Submarine Rediscovered 75 Years Later", "WWII submarine USS Grayback, missing 75 years, discovered off coast of Japan", "World War II submarine USS Grayback found off coast of Japan", "USS Grayback: Missing WW2 submarine found after 75 years", "American Submarine Lost in WWII Located Off Okinawa", "Navy Submarine, Missing for 75 Years, Is Found Off Okinawa", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Grayback_(SS-208)&oldid=1122509168, 11,000 nautical miles (20,000km) at 10 knots (19km/h), This page was last edited on 17 November 2022, at 23:46. It was hidden from discovery all this time by a single errant digit. When they reached Japanese waters in June, he and his team fought through mechanical and electrical problems that bedeviled their mission. USS Grayback, a World War II submarine, was lost at sea after sinking Japanese freight and transport ships in the western Pacific. Grayback I (SS-208) - Navy Through the latter half of 1942, the Grayback damaged several freighters and was a general menace to enemy escorts, submarines and shipping vessels. She was one of twelve Tambor -class fleet. Found: USS Grayback, Final Resting Place of 80 Entombed Sailors Heading home through the East China Sea after attacking convoy Hi-40 on 24 February, Grayback used her last two torpedoes to sink the freighter Ceylon Maru on 27 February. Grayback has finally been found. When youre on these sites, you feel like youre one breakdown away from having to go home, Mr. Taylor said of the search area. A plaque on the front of the wreckage identifies the submarine as the USS Grayback An American submarine that went missing in World War Two has been rediscovered at the bottom of the East China. In January 1943, she served as the beacon ship for the naval bombardment of Munda Bay. November 10, 2019 Soon after, though, it was reported that the sub was damaged by enemy aircraft, but it still managed to sink an enemy naval transport on Feb. 27. Researchers recently discovered a flaw in the translation of Japanese war records that misrepresented the spot where the Grayback may have sank. And it did not match what was in the 1949 Navy history, not by a hundred miles. The USS Grayback, credited with sinking 14 enemy ships, was discovered south of Okinawa with much of its body still intact. Within five days of her first contact with Japanese ships, she had expended all her torpedoes in a series of attacks that netted four ships for over 10,000tons. The USS Grayback was commissioned on June 30, 1941, and set sail for Pearl Harbor about six months later, quickly becoming a major part of the wars submarine offensive. The USS Grayback is about 426 metres below sea level (1,400 ft), so from the chart we can see that its local ambient temperature is around 15 - 20 degrees C. This is pretty good for microbial life. Thanks to a Japanese amateur researcher, the wreck of the USS Grayback has been located off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, 75 years after the submarine mysteriously went missing in March 1944. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a9c842299433894570c80e0bc7bfe01a" );document.getElementById("c08a1a06c7").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Gloria Hurney and Kathy Taylor, who lost relatives when the U.S.S. Thanks to a Japanese amateur researcher, the wreck of the USS Grayback has been located off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, 75 years after the submarine mysteriously went missing in March 1944. It was listed as presumed lost on March 30, 1944. Grayback's second war patrol met with a dearth of targets, although she even took the unusual and risky measure of patrolling surfaced during the day. The U.S.S. While accomplishing this task, her captain was made aware that six airmen from a crashed B-26 bomber were stuck on the island awaiting rescue. Lost at Sea: How the USS Grayback Disappeared into the Pacific Cookie Notice The USS Grayback SS-208 was launched on 30th June 1941 and attached to the Atlantic Fleet. USS Grayback (SS-208) Found After 75 Years; What Was Onboard Was The history, issued in 1949, gave approximate locations of where each submarine had disappeared. Prior to its disappearance, the submarine had transmitted several victorious . "I committed from the very beginning, when I was a little girl, that I was going to find him or follow him or keep his memory alive," she told ABC News. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef is a group of 67 reef balls, each weighing approximately 3,800 pounds, one for each of the 65 missing submarines marked with a plaque indicating the name of boat, best known last location and loss of life. Elisha Fieldstadt is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. It can be stated that the KRI Nanggala has sunk and all of its crew have died, one official said. Grayback sailed from Pearl Harbor on 28 January 1944 for the East China Sea. She was launched on 31 January 1940, sponsored by Mrs. Lydia Ballou Brown (ne Chappell), wife of Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, and commissioned on 30 June 1941 with Lieutenant Willard A. Saunders in command. Together, they've set out to find the wrecks of every American submarine lost in the war, an effort they dubbed the Lost 52 Project. Its plaque was still affixed to the front, but there was evidence that the sub likely was bombed. This is how the Naval History and Heritage Command documented its demise: "That same day [Feb. 27], a Japanese carrier-based plane spotted a submarine on the surface in the East China Sea and attacked.