But in the case of the USS Grayback, it had relied on an incorrect Japanese translation of war records that had one digit wrong in the assumed latitude and longitude of where the sub went down. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. USS Grayback discovered 75 years later The submarine, credited with sinking 14 enemy ships during WWII, was recently discovered off the coast of Japan. The sub exploded and sank immediately, and there were no survivors. Grayback beneath 1,400 feet of water after realizing that a mistranslated Japanese war record had pointed searchers in the wrong direction. The Navy did compile a history of the 52 submarines it had lost during WWII with approximate locations of where the vessels sank, according to The New York Times. Edward C. Stephan was awarded the Navy Cross for this rescue. Courtesy photo by Lost 52 Project, The USS Grayback (SS-208) photographed in 1941. It sank four landing barges with its deck guns on Dec. 25, 1942. 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. The USS Grayback, credited with sinking 14 enemy ships, was discovered south of Okinawa with much of its body still intact. 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. His nephew John Bihn, of Wantagh, N.Y., is named after him. One blew a gasket on a manhole cover, and the submarine, leaking seriously, was ordered back to Brisbane, Australia, where she arrived 23 January. Grayback beneath 1,400 feet of water after realizing that a mistranslated Japanese war record had pointed searchers in the wrong direction. [14] The deck gun was found about 400ft (about 120m) from the primary wreckage.[15]. 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. Private explorers found the U.S.S. He quickly spotted two anomalies on the sea floor, and readied another of the ships remotely operated vehicles to visit the bottom. Grayback arrived at Pearl Harbor on 30 May, then proceeded to San Francisco, California, for a much needed overhaul and modernization. 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. She had gotten the news from Christine Dennison. The discovery of the USS Grayback prompted me to wonder: what happens to human remains in shipwrecked submarines? Privacy Policy. 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. 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. Six have been found in the decades since, and now the Grayback can be added to the list of subs whose demise is no longer a mystery. The tremendous accomplishments of American submarines were achieved at the expense of 52 subs with 374 officers and 3,131 enlisted volunteers lost during combat against Japan; Japan lost 128 submarines during the Second World War in Pacific waters. USS Indianapolis, in full United States Ship Indianapolis, U.S. Navy heavy cruiser that was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, shortly after delivering the internal components of the atomic bombs that were later dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The efforts of the Grayback and its sister ships played a large role in the success of the Allies first major Pacific campaign at Guadalcanal. USS Grayback (SS-208), a Tambor-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the lake herring, Coregonus artedi. A World War II submarine that was sunk with 80 sailors on board and has been missing for three-quarters of a century was found, according to an organization dedicated to finding dozens of lost war subs. With Grayback running 100 feet beneath the surface, the untutored Roby successfully removed the infected appendix, and his patient was back standing watch by the end of the patrol. "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," Taylor told ABC News. 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. With only two torpedoes remaining, she was ordered home from patrol. The rest, as they say, is history, except that now a new chapter can be opened one that can bring closure to the families of the long lost sailors who gave their lives for the greater good. The Grayback had only two torpedoes remaining, so it was ordered back home. The USS Grayback's data plaque, photographed in 1941. 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. There, she had a four-day encounter with an enemy submarine; the enemy submarine fired two torpedoes at Grayback on the morning of 22 February, then continued to trail her across the Pacific. Fifty-two submarines of the United States Navy were lost during World War II. It was one of 52 U.S. submarines reported missing during the great conflict. What happens to human remains in shipwrecked submarines? Then, on 25 December, Grayback surfaced to sink four landing barges with her deck guns. Her wreck was discovered in June 2019. Nor did she reply to a radio inquiry three days later. 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. Your email address will not be published. Later that same day, a Japanese aircraft carrier-based Nakajima B5N (Allied reporting name "Kate") torpedo bomber spotted Grayback on the surface in the East China Sea and attacked, hitting her with a 500-pound (227kg) aerial bomb. 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. Was the USS Grayback submarine ever found? Ten days later, on March 7, the submarine USS Grayback failed to return to Pearl Harbor from her tenth war patrol as scheduled. 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. THE GERMAN NAVY commenced World War II with fifty-six submarines, of which only twenty four were suitable for operations in the Atlantic. On January 28, 1944, the Grayback set sail from Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea for its 10th combat patrol. Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE, Gone Viral: Bugler Stands & Plays Taps in the Rain, Tribute to WWII Nurse. 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. A team of explorers just found it off the coast of Japan. Choose which Defense.gov products you want delivered to your inbox. It sank four landing barges with its deck guns on Dec. 25, 1942. On 5 January, Grayback served as beacon ship for the bombardment of Munda Bay in the Solomon Islands, and also engaged in rescue work. Under their names, Mr. Bihn said, they had engraved, John Patrick King Lost in Action.. It was listed as presumed lost on March 30, 1944. By late March it was more than three weeks overdue to return, and the Navy listed the submarine as missing and presumed lost. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 329 August 1944, Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. The submarine surfaced on 27 December to sink a good-sized fishing boat with deck guns before reaching Pearl Harbor on 4 January 1944. The records from 1949 show that the US authorities believed that the USS Grayback sank approximately 100 miles south-east of Okinawa in the open ocean. A plaque on the front of the wreckage identifies the submarine as the USS Grayback, The USS Grayback first launched in 1941 and travelled to Australia as well as Japan, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Through his work in undersea exploration, Mr. Taylor was introduced to Don Walsh, a former Navy submariner who, as a lieutenant in 1960, reached the deepest point of any ocean on Earth, in the Mariana Trench near Guam. It is my hobby, and also my passion.. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, Photo of Princess Charlotte shared as she turns 8, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month, More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests. The source explained: Because its a working environment everything gets positioned and the body will be lifted and put in the fridge, not in the torpedo tube like on Vigil, photographs are also taken as its classed as a crime scene. But dont worry, they dont store the corpse with the bread and milk. She was sunk near Okinawa on 27 February 1944. On 17 March, she sank her first ship, the 3291-ton cargo ship Ishikari Maru off Port Lloyd, Chichijima, Bonin Islands. The worst such accidentindeed, the deadliest civilian maritime disaster in historyoccurred on December 20, 1987, when the passenger ferry MV Doa Paz collided with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait, roughly 110 miles (180 km) south of Manila. Required fields are marked *. 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. A missing Indonesian submarine has been found, broken into at least three parts, deep in the Bali Sea, army and navy officials said on Sunday, as the president sent condolences to relatives of the 53 crew. It's the. Grayback sailed from Pearl Harbor on 28 January 1944 for the East China Sea. Mr. Walsh gave Mr. Taylor his copy of the 1949 Navy history, U.S. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Despite this, the wreckage of the submarine was never located, and the 80 crew were listed as missing. It can be stated that the KRI Nanggala has sunk and all of its crew have died, one official said. The history, issued in 1949, gave approximate locations of where each submarine had disappeared. Through the latter half of 1942, the Grayback damaged several freighters and was a general menace to enemy escorts, submarines and shipping vessels. After waiting . On her third and fourth war patrols, in the South China Sea and St. George's Passage, Grayback was hampered by bright moonlight, shallow and treacherous water, and enemy patrol craft. On 26 February 1944, Grayback suffered damage when land-based Japanese naval aircraft attacked her in the East China Sea, 2547N, 12845E, but sank the naval transport Ceylon Maru the next day . In company with the submarine Grampus(SS-207), she departed New London, Connecticut, on 8 September 1940 for patrol duty in the Caribbean Sea and Chesapeake Bay, then arrived at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, on 30 November 1940 for overhaul. A World War II Navy submarine missing for 75 years has finally been found off the coast of Japan. Grayback went down, were one of the firsts to find out about the miraculous discovery. Attached to the United States Atlantic Fleet, Grayback conducted her shakedown cruise in Long Island Sound from Newport, New London, and New York City. It received two Navy Unit Commendations and eight battle stars. 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. Researchers recently discovered a flaw in the translation of Japanese war records that misrepresented the spot where the Grayback may have sank. As Commander Moore did 75 years before, Mr. Taylor launched his mission to Okinawa this spring from Hawaii. Are the microbes we live with capable of consuming our entire bodies? 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. 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 . Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}2547N 12845E / 25.783N 128.750E / 25.783; 128.750, Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. The Navy considers submarines like the Grayback to be still on patrol.. Archived post. Lying off Munda early on the morning of 5 January, she received word that six survivors of a crashed Martin B-26 Marauder bomber were holed up on the island. When the drone returned to the mother ship, technicians downloaded its data, using computer software to stitch all of the sonar imagery into one coherent picture that they could quickly review. The USS Grayback sailed out of. The vessel is reportedly deep in the ocean and broken into multiple pieces. Ask a science question, get a science answer. The wreck of the USS Grayback, a World War II submarine, has been found off the coast of Japan 75 years after its sinking by a Japanese bomber. The USS Grayback SS-208 was launched on 30th June 1941 and attached to the Atlantic Fleet. . Yutaka Iwasaki, a Japanese amateur researcher, had delved into the records of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Navy base at Sasebo. Read about our approach to external linking. Taylor founded the Lost 52 Project after his first WWII submarine discovery of the USS R12. "It was mistranslated after post-WWII, and they changed one number -- an 8 to a 6 -- and our Japanese translator re-translated it, found it, put us 100 miles to a different area.". 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 was lost on Feb. 26, 1944, after a 500 pound bomb from a Japanese bomber sunk it . Its the first U.S. submarine to be found in waters off Japan. They were searching an area where the ocean was 1,400 feet deep, and their main search tool was a 14-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle weighing thousands of pounds that Mr. Taylor likened to an underwater drone. It was hidden from discovery all this time by a single errant digit. The USS Grayback sailed out of Pearl Harbor on Jan. 28, 1944 for its 10th combat patrol. In two years, it went on 10 successful war patrols, during which it sank a total of 63,835 tons and 14 ships. On 25 February, she transmitted her second and final report. Photo courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command. According to a news release, the Lost 52 team discovered that historical documents erred in the translation of the longitude of where the Grayback sank. 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.". On 16 May, she torpedoed and seriously damaged a destroyer. The Grayback was found more than 1,400 feet under water and about 50 miles south of Okinawa, Japan. 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. Uncovering the history of those ships necessarily brought him into contact with records on submarines. As night fell, Grayback surfaced offshore and by coded light signals directed the small boat "home safe" with the rescued aviators. Tim Taylor, an undersea explorer, set up the Lost 52 Project with the goal of finding the wrecks of every American submarine lost in World War II. 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. On the 28th January 1944, the USS Grayback with her 80 strong crew, left on their 10th Combat Mission from Pearl Harbour. "The numbers that came out were wrong, and that's how we found it," Taylor said. Credited with sinking at least 14 ships during the war, the USS Grayback was one of 52 submarines that was lost in action. On 17 January, she attacked a destroyer escorting a large maru, hoping to disable the escort and then sink the freighter with her deck guns. "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. In two years, it went on 10 successful war patrols, during which it sank a total of 63,835 tons and 14 ships. She was credited with the sinking of cargo ship Yodogawa Maru. She was somewhere off the coast of Okinawa when a Japanese war plane located the sub and dropped a 500-pound bomb on her after deck, after of the conning tower, damaging the ship beyond repair or recovery. Along with the use of new drone technology, the recovered military documents meant the team could correctly locate the submarine, which was 1,400ft (430m) down. She was due to return to Midway by the 7th March 1944, but she failed to return. But in his family, the subject of his uncles death was too sad to ask about, Mr. Bihn said. Courtesy photo by Lost 52 Project, The USS Grayback (SS-208) photographed in 1941. The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security. RAF takes delivery of first submarine hunter plane, AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, France May Day protests leave dozens of police injured, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. About a month later, the sub radioed that it had sunk two Japanese army cargo ships. Grayback and her crew received two Navy Unit Commendations for their seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth war patrols. *USS Grayback Crew, Jack Dewey Forward, Was lost in an airplane accident off Midway Island and not aboard the sub when it was lost. Meet the honorees NFL Draft Hub Vote . How many US submarines are still on patrol? Grayback, one of WWII's most successful U.S. submarines, was discovered 1,400 feet . That night the Grayback resurfaced, and the small boat with the airmen and the two submariners made it safely back to the submarine. 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. USS Grayback, submarine missing for 75 years, found off Japan - YouTube A U.S. Navy submarine missing for 75 years has been found off Okinawa, Japan. However, the destroyer evaded the torpedoes and dropped 19 depth charges on Grayback. 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. CO John Anderson Moore was awarded a second Navy Cross after this mission.[8]. Crew Remains: Archaeologists excavating the Hunley after its recovery in 2000 found the crewmembers remains were largely found at their stations, with no sign of panic or desperate attempts to escape the submarine. When the US entered the war, she sailed for the Pacific on the 12th January 1942. She topped off with fuel at Midway, and departed from there on 3 February. 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. In 1943 she joined a very successful Submarine Wolf Pack in the company of SS-225 Cero and SS-235 Shad. The vessel is at a depth of 213 feet. How the most successful submarine in US Navy history ended up sinking itself. A sonar image of the U.S.S. The US Navy officially verified the discovery of Grayback which was made on June 5, 2019, at a depth of 435 meters. Submarine Losses, World War II.. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The search was conducted by U.S. and Japanese researchers who were the first to realize that an error in. In a night surface attack, Grayback fired a spread of six torpedoes at the seven freighters and their three escorts. On 24 February, Grayback radioed that she had sunk two cargo ships on 19 February and had damaged two others (Taikei Maru and Toshin Maru sunk). The Grayback was the 20th most successful submarine during WWII and earned two Navy commendations and eight battle stars for its service. [12] The discovery was officially verified by the U.S. Navy[13] and the families of the deceased crew members were notified. With the new data and newly discovered Japanese mission logs, the searchers were able to refocus their efforts and, using groundbreaking robotics and technology, found the dilapidated sub 100 miles from the area recorded in the original historical records. With almost a quarter of her crew untested in battle Grayback departed Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea on 2 December for her ninth war patrol. On 22 June, she arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia, which was to remain her home base for most of the war. Iwasaki found that the coordinates on the tape did not match the US Navy coordinates. The wreckage of a lost Indonesian submarine has been located, according to the countrys military. 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. The Grayback was thought to have gone down in the open ocean 100 miles east-southeast of Okinawa. An American submarine that went missing in World War Two has been rediscovered at the bottom of the East China sea. The sub was sunk by a Nakajima b5N carrier bomber Feb. 26, 1944, during its 10th war patrol, according to a video announcement from the Lost 52 project. That's what I thought. On 30 March, ComSubPac listed her as missing and presumed lost with all hands. 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. USS Grayback SS-208. November 10, 2019 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. 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. Anyone can read what you share. It was hidden from discovery all this time by a single errant digit. For this action, skipper Edward C. Stephan received the Navy Cross, as well as a Silver Star from the United States Army. 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. Advertisement. The KRI Nanggala 402 went missing early Wednesday morning during a training exercise near Bali. Courtesy Lost52 Project Researchers recently discovered a flaw in the translation of Japanese war records that misrepresented the spot where the Grayback may have sank. One of those names was John Patrick King. Why did Germany not have aircraft carriers? Four days later, she was again fired on by an enemy submarine, but maneuvered to avoid the torpedoes. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. In World War II Germany built 1,162 U-boats, of which 785 were destroyed and the remainder surrendered (or were scuttled to avoid surrender) at the capitulation. After the United States's entry into World War II, Grayback departed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii arriving 8 February 1942. On the next to last day of the expedition, the drone reported a malfunction one-third of the way through a planned 24-hour mission. The USS Grayback, credited with sinking 14 enemy ships, was discovered south of Okinawa with much of its body still intact. Grayback, under Commander J.A. 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 war's submarine offensive. 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. How many German submarines were lost in WWII? Grayback accounted for two ships, a passenger-cargo vessel torpedoed 14 October and a former light cruiser, Awata Maru, torpedoed after an end-around run on a fast convoy 22 October. After an unsuccessful attack the following night had exhausted her torpedo supply, Grayback headed home. Mr. Bihn, who was born three years after the Grayback went down, remembers him as a constant presence in his maternal grandparents home, where a black-and-white photo of the submarine hung in the living room near a black frame holding Mr. Kings Purple Heart medal and citation. Grayback's tenth patrol, her most successful in terms of tonnage sunk, was also her last. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Gloria Hurney, who lost her uncle Raymond Parks, an electrician's mate, first class, and Kathy Taylor, who lost her uncle and Godfather John Patrick King, an electrician's mate, third class, were among the first to find out about the miraculous discovery. WWII submarine USS Grayback, missing 75 years, discovered off coast of Japan The sub was sunk with 80 sailors on board by a Nakajima b5N carrier bomber Feb. 26, 1944. The files included daily reports received by radio from the naval air base at Naha, Okinawa and the entry for Feb. 27, 1944, contained a promising lead. Its the first U.S. submarine to be found in waters off Japan.