In 1944 a U.S. submarine vanished off the coast of Japan along with 80 crew members. Now in 2019, a team led by Tim Taylor is searching for this submarine. He sent an underwater vehicle, and then looked over the data. With this data, Taylor was motivated to send another machine to examine. What they found will make your jaw drop so prepare yourself!
Researchers Investigate The Missing WWII Submarine And The 80 Crew Members Who Were On Board
The U.S.S Grayback
The experts were on the hunt for the submarine called the U.S.S Grayback also known as the S.S.- 208, which was sent for the Lost 52 Project, a mission to find the 52 missing U.S. Submarines from the Second World War. In March of 1944, it was posted that this Grayback disappeared.
U.S.S. Grayback
Starting At Pearl Harbor
On January 28, 1944, the Grayback left Pearl Harbor on her tenth mission. At this point, people were unaware that this would be the final mission she went on. Before she completely disappeared, a message was sent back to base on February 24th, that said that two Japanese freighters, Toshin Maru and Taikei Maru, sunk and two others were damaged.
Starting At Pearl Harbor
Asama Maru and Nanpo Maru
On February 25th the submarine sent another message saying that the crew damaged the Japanese liner Asama Maru, and sunk the Nanpo. Within two days these attacks left the Grayback with just two torpedos so she was supposed to sail to Midway Atoll in the North Pacific to restock.
Asama Maru And Nanpo Maru
The Last Radio Message
The radio message the Grayback sent out on February 25th was the last one they ever sent. The Navy commanders expected to find the submarine dock at Midway Atoll on March 7, 1944, but there was no sign of her, even three weeks later.
The Last Radio Message
The History
On March 30th, they announced the ship and crew members were lost at sea. Before we get into the story of the ship’s disappearance let’s talk about the history of this U.S Navy submarine. The creators of the ship placed the keel of the Grayback at the Electric Boat Company in Groton Connecticut on April 3, 1940.
The History
The U.S Holland
The Grayland was being taken care of since the workers at the Electric Boat company has been building submarines since 1899. The company’s first boat that they ever commissioned was in 1900 and was also the first U.S. Navy submarine, called the U.S.S Holland.
The U.S Holland
The Second World War
This business built 85 submarines for the U.S Navy and the British Royal Navy, during WWI. The Electric Boat company created an additional 74 submarines during WWII, one of which was the Grayback.
The Second World War
The Successful Ship
The Grayback was a Tambor-class vessel, one of 12, which was built. Seven of the Tambor submarines never returned and the Grayback was one of them. At the final result, the Grayback was over 300 feet in total.
The Successful Ship
Final Count
She was nearly 27 feet wide with a maximum surface speed of 20 knots and an underground speed of 9 knots. She averaged nearly 12,500 miles and was able to stay submerged for roughly 48 hours.
Final Count
Well Equipped
The submarine had two propellers that worked with the help of four electric motors charged by a quarter of diesel engines. The listed crew consisted of 54 men and six officers but in the 1944 announcement, 80 members were reported missing.
Well Equipped
January 31, 1941
The Grayback was fully stocked with equipment like ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, with six directed to the bow and four at the back. It was also equipped with a 50 caliber machine gun and Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannons that were all mounted on the deck.
January 31, 1941
Trial Period
The machines were there for defense from the air and attacks on enemy shipping. The Electrical Boat Company began construction and 10 months later the Grayback was launched by Rear Admiral Wilson Brown’s wife.
Trial Period
Getting To Business
The U.S Navy commissioned the shop on June 30, which was five months before America joined WWII after the events of Pearl Habor. After being commissioned this was when the Grayback went off on a shakedown cruise instructed by Lietuyenant Willard A Saunders, on Long Island Sound.
Getting To Business
Japanese Territory
It was the perfect time to test the submarine’s programs and the crew was able to get acquainted with the systems. The submarine was successful with the test and went to patrol Chesapeake Bay Caribbean in September 1941.
Japanese Territory
Her First Success Mission
After work was done at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on the Maine Coast, Grayback went for Pearl Harbor in February 1942, since the US was now actively engaged in WWII. February 15 was when the submarine was off into the Pacific and along the coasts of the Island of Guam.
Her First Success Mission
Goodbye Australia
The Japanese then invaded this year in December 1941. Grayback sailed near the coast of Saipan, which was under Japanese control. This mission lasted three weeks, and four of the days were spent in a cat- and mouse game with a Japanese submarine.
Goodbye Australia
Multiple Attacks
Two torpedos were sent to attack Grayback and she was unsuccessful at returning the fire. Grayback managed to escape the attack by the Japanese submarine but sunk her first ship which was a cargo vessel of 3,291 tons.
Multiple Attacks
Rescue Mission
Its second mission was unfortunately not as successful and finished when she docked at Fremantle, A western Australian port that became her base. The next patrols were in the South China Sea and were hindered by enemy boats.
Rescue Mission
Awarded For His Work
She successfully damaged an enemy submarine as well as merchant ships. December 7, 1942, was when the 5th tour began and the Grayback left Australia. The Grayback surfaced on Christmas day in 1942 and sunk four landing barges.
Awarded For His Work
Back To Base
Four days later she was attacked by an enemy submarine, however, the Grayback team knew what to do and took unequivocal action. In 1943 the U.S. submarine attacked the Imperial Japanese Navy vessel I-18, but it came out untouched.
Back To Base
The Triumphs
However, the next month the U.S.S Fletcher successfully sank the I-18 and 102 crewmen were killed in the process. While on its fifth tour, the Grayback performed a rescue mission. This came about when a Martin B-26 bomber crashed leaving six Americans stranded at Munda Bay on the Solomon Islands.
The Triumphs
Return To Pearl Harbor
Two of the Graybacks crewmen were ashore one night and found the men. The next night the two men came back with the six Americans to the Grayback and the captain Commander Edward C. Stephan, won the Navy cross and a U.S. Army Silver Star for this.
Return To Pearl Harbor
The Wolfpack
The Grayback continued torpedoing various Japanese crafts but unfortunately was damaged by enemies. The Grayback had been severely damaged forcing her to return to port in Brisbane, Australia.
The Wolfpack
Effective Strategy
The next patrol, which occurred in February 1943 did not see many accomplishments, in part because of a newly added radar. The Grayback made it to the end of her seventh tour, which began on April 25th, 1943 in Brisbane.
Effective Strategy
A Second Award
When the Grayback left Brisbane she managed to hit the merchant ship Yodogawa Maru and sank her. This was not the only successful mission she carried out, but just two days later the U.S. vessel torpedoed an enemy, and the following day the Grayback sank another ship called the England Maru.
A Second Award
The Last Mission
After much success, they decided to head back to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco to be freshened up. The Grayback was sent back to Pearl Habor on September 12, 1943, for her eight Pacific Mission led by Commander John Anderson Moore.
The Last Mission
The Final Accomplishments
Upon two weeks of being there, the ship was set off for Midway Atoll with the U.S.S Shad. The Grayback who was alongside Shad was then joined by the U.S.S Cero, making up what was known as the “wolf pack.”
The Final Accomplishments
Decades Later
Combining the vessels was expected to be successful since they could join forces. This was imitated by German U-boats who had done this before and were successful. The method was successful and the three submarines managed to sink 38,000 tons of Japanese shipping and damaged 3,300 tons.
Decades Later
A Crucial Error
They used all their torpedoes and returned to Midway Atoll on November 10, 1943. The mission was such a success that Moore became the second Grayback skipper to receive a Navy Cross. Once they left Pearl Harbor once again, the Grayback was on its way for the East China Sea on its ninth patrol.
A Crucial Error
Revisiting The Case
The submarine fired all of her torpedos within five days and successfully sank four Japanese ships before going back to Pearl Harbor. Commander Moore won himself a second Navy Cross. After staying in Pearl Harbor for nearly three weeks, Grayback went on her tenth mission on January 28, 1944.
Revisiting The Case
Digging Through The Files
After February 25th there was nothing else heard from the submarine and on March 30th the ship was announced missing. The Grayback sunk around 21,594 tons of Japanese shipping during the final mission.
Digging Through The Files
Getting To Work
It was the third trip led by Moore and he received a third Navy Cross after the sinking. The ship herself was awarded eight battle stars for her WWII service. After the Grayback and her 80 members disappeared, people only found out what happened decades later.
Getting To Work
Nakajima B5N
At first, the U.S. Navy assumed the ship sunk under the waves at about 100 miles SE of the island of Okinawa, but this was later learned to be based on false data. The Navy was relying on war records kept by the Japanese, but there was something they did not realize.
Nakajima B5N
The Wrong Location
One of the digits in the map was falsely translated, making the map uncredible. As a result, the Grayback was very far from the location that they had expected. In 2018, American Tim Taylor decided to look back at the disappearance case of the Grayback.
The Wrong Location
The Search
He is the founder of the Lost 52 project, which is a private enterprise aiming to find the missing 52 submarines that vanished with no mark in the Second World War. Taylor was determined to get to the bottom of the missing submarine.
The Search
A Monumental Discovery
To do so he spoke to Japanese researcher Yutaka Iwasaki and requested he search through files from the Japanese Imperial Navy during WWII. These records had daily radio updates from Naha on Okinawa Island, a location formerly used for Japanese naval air activity.
Monumental Discovery
The Family Members
Iwasaki was ready to get to business and this is when he noticed the single-digit error translation, that was radioed in on February 27, 1944, from Naha to Sasebo. This occurred a few days post-Graybacks return to base for the final time.
The Family Members
Getting Closure
Also, The Japanese report reported on an attack by a Nakajima B5N bomber from an aircraft carrier. The Nakajima B5N was a Japanese torpedo bomber that dropped a 500-pound bomb on a surfaced submarine.
Getting Closure
Never Giving Up
The account said that the bomb hit the submarine at the end of the conning tower, and the vessel subsequently exploded and sunk leaving no trace behind. In 2019, Iwasaki spoke to the NY Times about what he found in the files.
Never Giving Up
The Search Begins
Taylor received longitude and latitude reports of the attack, a location that was 100 miles from what the U.S. Navy found back in 1949. He then looked into things and officially began searching in 2019.
The Search Begins
An Emotional Find
Taylor and his crew, the lost 52 project, succeeded! They found the submarine in one piece! After they uncovered the ship, researchers and divers had their fair share of differing opinions. Taylor recalls his emotions when finally uncovering the sub.
An Emotional Find
A Very Sad Scene
He recalled how overwhelmed with emotion the entire team was. It was a sad scene, recovering 80 men. Many people all over the world were understandably in shock. The family members of the lost soldiers viewed this as a historic event. They came forward after hearing the news- 75 years later.
A Very Sad Scene
Very Pleased
Gloria Hurney had an uncle, who was an electrician’s mate, first class, named Raymond Park. Gloria was thrilled to hear the news, she told reporters that she felt she was getting closer to getting closure after her uncle’s death.
Very Pleased
From Grief To Comfort
Family members are now able to heal, and hopefully people are being connected, years after the ship went down. Gloria Hurney told the news that when she first heard the news she felt three emotions: shock, grief and then comfort.
From Grief To Comfort
Keeping His Memory Alive
Kathy Taylor lost her uncle and godfather aboard the submarine; his name was John Patrick Kind, an electrician’s mate, third class aboard the sub. Taylor claims that she lives her life with her godfather in mind, hoping to keep his memory alive.
Keeping His Memory Alive
Quite The Ship
Japanese forces attacked the USS Grayback in 1994 in the East China Sea. After the ship went down it was reported that the sub had done tremendous work. The Grayback had sunk 21,594 tons of shipping solely in its final mission. According to the Navy, the submarine sunk 14 ships weighing in at 63,835 tons.
Quite The Ship
A Difficult Mission
Taylor told the Washington Post, “It was off by one digit, that changed the location by more than 100 miles.” When the team went in with the new coordinates, they used advanced imaging technology and underwater drones. Even with all of these tools, finding the sub was still difficult. The team almost gave up…
A Difficult Mission
There It Was
Taylor continued, “It was amazing, the team had resigned to the fact that we’re headed back to port and would not complete the total search area this year. You could feel everyone shuffling and getting ready to shift gears to secure the ship for getting underway. The next thing we see in the last quarter of the last line of data is the USS Grayback roll across the monitor”.
There It Was
For Our Sailors
Robert S. Neyland, the head of the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Underwater Archaeology Branch said, “The confirmation of the site as a U.S. Navy sunken military craft ensures it is protected from disturbance, safeguarding the final resting place of our sailors.”
For Our Sailors
Absolutely Dumbfounded
John Bihn lost his uncle John Patrick King in the Grayback sinking. When John was told of the news, he says he was “dumbfounded.” He said to The New York Times, “I just could not believe it. I wish my parents were alive to see this because it would certainly make them very happy.”
Absolutely Dumbfounded
427 Meters Down
When the team deployed for the mission, they sent an AUV to analyze ten square miles of seafloor. This took hours but in the end, it was worth it. The data helped the team find the wrecked submarine 427 meters down.
427 Meters Down
Perfectly Intact
Videos show that the ship’s bow was torn and the stern imploded, meaning it was a direct hit. The submarine’s deck gun was over 100 meters away from the site but one thing remained in place and intact: her nameplate.
Perfectly Intact
The Silent Service
German submarines were famous for trying and failing to shoot down U.S. convoys in the Atlantic during both World wars. Allied submarines, on the other hand, succeeded and sunk 80% of Imperial Japan’s ships during World War II.
The Silent Service
A Hard Occupation
Understandably, the “Silent Service” was one of the U.S. Navy’s riskiest jobs. In total, 52 boats during World War II went down. Planes hit submarines recharging batteries and escort ships then hit them once submerged.
A Hard Occupation
Not A Book
The niece of Raymond Parks, Gloria Hurney, said, “There’s a book I read, and it says these ships are known only to God. But now we know where the Grayback is.” She no longer believed this book.
Not A Book
False Hope
Taylor said, “We do not tell people that we’re looking for these because we don’t want to disappoint people, and we don’t want to blast it across the Internet until it’s done properly through the Navy. With the technology that we’re using, and the ability to cover large swaths of ground, we’re looking at the potential to find several more.”
False Hope
Numerous Awards
During WWII, the Grayback earned 8 battle stars and 2 Navy commendations. The said submarine was the 20th most successful during the brutal war. She came in 20th place with total weight sunk and 24th with the number of ships sunk.
Numerous Awards
USS Grayling (SS-209)
The USS Grayling (SS-209) was the 4th ship to be named the grayling in the U.S. The Tambor-class submarine was first put in the water in Portsmouth Navy Yard in Maine in 1939. She was later launched in 1940 and commissioned in 1941.
USS Grayling (SS-209)
“Lost With All Hands”
The USS Grayling began her 8th and last war in 1943 in the Philippines. She was last heard from on September 9th, 1943. When no contact was made from then until September 30th, the Navy reported her as being “lost with all hands”.
“Lost With All Hands”
Mysterious Impact
Japanese ships saw a torpedo attack in August of 1943 and the day after, a surfaced submarine was seen. Not much data exists other than: “(the Japanese) noted an impact with a submerged object.”
Mysterious Impact
We’ll Never Know
If she survived, then no other ship attacks could have sunk her. We don’t know if she went down due to an unrecorded attack or because of operational reasons. I guess we’ll never surely know.
We’ll Never Know
Another Successful Ship
The Grayling was another successful ship with 7/8 “won” war patrols. She was recorded with 5 big kills, 20,575 tons in all. Her World War II service ended with 6 battle stars.
Another Successful Ship
USS Grampus (SS-207)
The USS Grampus (SS-207) was the 6th ship of the US Navy to be a member of the dolphin family (Delphinidae). This Tambor-class submarine had 3 successful missions: her 1st, 4th and 5th. At the end of her career, the Grampus received 3 battle stars.
USS Grampus (SS-207)
A Mystery
Grampus and Grayback both departed Brisbane in February 1943. This was her 6th war patrol, one that she never returned from. Japanese seaplanes sunk a sub on February 18th in Grampus’ area of patrol, but the Grayback reported seeing the ship in that same area a few weeks after. The ship’s disappearance remains a mystery to this day.
A Mystery
Attacking The Grumpus
The Grampus was said to have damaged 2 Japanese ships in late February 1943. On March 5th of that same year, 2 Japanese vessels attacked a ship- many believe this was the U.S. Grampus. On June 21st, 1943, the Grumpus was taken out of the Naval Vessel Registry.
Attacking The Grumpus
USS Herring (SS-233)
The USS Herring’s (SS-233) last war patrol was also her most successful. On May 21st 1944, she topped off at Midway Island, then headed to the Kurile Islands. The USS Herring (SS-233) and Barb (SS-220) then met up 10 days later.
USS Herring (SS-233)
Never Heard From
After that, Herring was never heard from again. The Japanese say she sunk two ships, proving her manner of loss. In June of 1944, two more Japanese merchant ships were sunk.
Never Heard From
USS Harder (SS-257)
The USS Harder (SS-257) was the 1st ship of the U.S. Navy to be named after a fish. This was one of the most famous submarines during WWII, achieving the Presidential Unit Citation. The Commander of the ship, Samuel D. Dealey, was awarded the Medal of Honor and 4 Navy Crosses.
USS Harder (SS-257)
The Greatest Of All
Many called the ship “Hit ‘Em Harder” because of her success against Japanese shipping. She went on to become legendary since all of her patrols were successful and became of her aggressive nature. She received the Presidential Unit Citation for World War II service and 6 battle stars.
The Greatest Of All