View source for USS Grunion

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image=[[File:USS Grunion;0821602.jpg|300px|USS Grunion (SS-216), 20 March 1942 at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.]]
| Ship caption=USS ''Grunion'' (SS-216) off the [[Electric Boat]] Company, [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]], on 20&nbsp;March&nbsp;1942.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=
| Ship country=United States
| Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
| Ship name=
| Ship ordered=
| Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{Cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
  | date = 1995
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 285–304
  | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
| Ship laid down=1 March 1941<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship launched=22 December 1941<ref name="Register">{{cite book
  | last = Bauer
  | first = K. Jack
  |author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
  | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants
  | publisher = Greenwood Press
  | date = 1991
  | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
  | pages = 271–273
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
| Ship sponsor=Mr. [[Stanford Caldwell Hooper|Stanford C. Hooper]]
| Ship acquired=
| Ship commissioned=11 April 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship decommissioned=
| Ship in service=
| Ship out of service=
| Ship struck=2 November 1942
| Ship reinstated=
| Ship fate=Sunk off of [[Kiska]] around 30 July 1942, due to accidents caused/related to circular run of own torpedo<ref name=stevens/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class=[[Gato-class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[Diesel–electric transmission|Diesel–electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship displacement=*{{convert|1525|LT|t|0}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2424|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-GM-4-GE}}
| Ship speed=*{{convert|21|kn|km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km|lk=in}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
| Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship complement=6 officers, 64 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship sensors=
| Ship EW=
| Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Grunion'' (SS-216)''' was a [[Gato-class submarine|''Gato''-class submarine]] that sank at [[Kiska]], [[Alaska]], during World War II. She was the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[grunion]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Grunion''′s [[Keel laying|keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]] in [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]], on 1 March 1941. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 22 December 1941, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Stanford C. Hooper, wife of [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Stanford Caldwell Hooper]], and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 11 April 1942 with [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[USS Mannert L. Abele#Namesake|Mannert L. Abele]], [[United States Naval Academy|USNA class of 1926]], in command.

==Service history==
After [[Shakedown (testing)|shakedown]] from [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], Connecticut, ''Grunion'' sailed for the Pacific on 24 May. A week later, as she transited the [[Caribbean Sea]] for [[Panama]], she rescued 16 survivors of the [[List of ships of the United States Army#Transport ships|USAT ''Jack'']], which had been torpedoed by the German [[U-boat]] {{GS|U-558||2}},<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1709.html | title=''Jack'' | last=Helgason | first=Guðmundur | website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net | access-date=4 December 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015145655/http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1709.html | archive-date=15 October 2008 | url-status=live }}</ref> and conducted a fruitless search for 13 other survivors presumed to be in the vicinity. Arriving at [[Coco Solo]] on 3 June, ''Grunion'' landed the survivors and continued on to [[Pearl Harbor]], arriving on 20 June.

Departing [[Hawaii]] on 30 June after ten days of intensive training, ''Grunion'' touched [[Midway Atoll]] in the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] before heading toward the [[Aleutian Islands]] for her first war patrol. Her first report, made as she patrolled north of [[Kiska|Kiska Island]], stated she had been attacked by a Japanese [[destroyer]] and had fired [[Mark 14 torpedo]]es at her with inconclusive results. She operated off Kiska throughout July and sank two Japanese sub-chasers (''[[No.13-class submarine chaser|CH-25]]'' and ''[[No.13-class submarine chaser|CH-27]]'') as she waited for enemy shipping. On 30 July, the submarine reported intensive antisubmarine activity and was ordered back to [[Dutch Harbor]].

''Grunion'' was never heard from again. Air searches off Kiska were fruitless, and on 5 October ''Grunion'' was reported overdue from patrol and assumed lost with all hands. Her name was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 2 November 1942. Captured Japanese records show no antisubmarine attacks in the Kiska area, and the fate of ''Grunion'' remained a mystery for 65 years, until the discovery in the [[Bering Sea]] in August 2007 of a wreck believed to be her. In October 2008, the U.S. Navy verified that the wreck is ''Grunion''.<ref name="FoxGrunion">{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,432102,00.html|title=U.S. Navy Confirms Lost WWII Sub Found Off Aleutians|date=3 October 2008|work=via AP|publisher=Fox News|access-date=2008-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021040017/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,432102,00.html|archive-date=21 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]] for [[World War II]] service.

== Finding ''Grunion'' ==
In 1998 [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] Richard Lane purchased for $1 a wiring diagram from a Japanese cargo ship, ''Kano Maru'', which had been active during World War II.<ref name=stevens>Peter F. Stevens. ''Fatal Dive: Solving the World War II Mystery of the USS Grunion'', Regnery History, 2012</ref> Hoping to authenticate the document, Lane posted it on a Japanese naval historical website, asking if anyone could help. He was contacted by Yutaka Iwasaki, a Japanese naval historian, who not only authenticated it, but suggested he knew what happened to ''Grunion''. Lane contacted [[COMSUBPAC|ComSubPac]], and their [[Public affairs (military)|public affairs officer]], Darrel Ames, posted the information on ComSubPac's ''Grunion'' Web site.<ref name=stevens />

When ''Grunion'' disappeared in 1942, her captain, Lieutenant Commander Abele, left behind three sons&nbsp;— Bruce, Brad, and John. For nearly 65 years, they had been searching for information about the loss of their father's boat.<ref name=stevens />

When the Abele brothers encountered the post, they contacted Yutaka Iwasaki. He sent them a translation of an article written by the officer who had commanded the merchant ship ''Kano Maru''. The article described an encounter with a submarine near Kiska Island in the Aleutians about the time ''Grunion'' was reported missing.<ref name=stevens />

Several years later, [[John Abele]], cofounder of [[Boston Scientific]], met Dr. [[Robert Ballard]], famous for discovering the wreck of the [[Wreck of the RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']]. Ballard gave him advice on how to locate a shipwreck, and Abele decided to fund an expedition to find the lost submarine ''Grunion''.<ref name=stevens />

In 2006, Williamson Associates, using [[side-scan sonar]], located a promising target almost at the exact location indicated by the commander of ''Kano Maru''. The sunken object had many characteristics typical of a submarine.<ref name=stevens /> In 2007, using a [[remotely operated underwater vehicle]] (ROV), DSSI/''Oceaneering'', returned to the site and took [[video]] recordings of the imploded remains of a submarine, which had markings in English, and [[propeller]] guards and [[limber hole]]s identical to those of ''Grunion''. The following year, the U.S. Navy confirmed that the find was ''Grunion''.<ref name=stevens />

Although it is not absolutely certain, the evidence strongly suggests that ''Grunion'' was lost as a result of multiple torpedo failures during her encounter with ''Kano Maru''. Her first torpedo ran low, but despite its [[magnetic pistol]] it failed to detonate. Two more bounced harmlessly off ''Kano Maru'' without exploding. However, the remaining torpedo missed its target and circled back, striking the [[periscope]] supports on the submerged submarine without exploding.<ref name=stevens /> The damage the torpedo inflicted, combined with a jammed rear [[diving plane|dive plane]], triggered a sequence of events that caused the loss of depth control. ''Grunion'' lunged below her maximum operational depth, and at about {{convert|1000|ft|m}} would have [[implosion (mechanical process)|imploded]]. What remained of the ship struck the seabed, breaking off about {{convert|50|ft|m}} of her bow. The wreckage then slid {{convert|2/3|nmi|mi km|spell=in|adj=pre|of a}} down the side of an extinct [[volcano]], coming to rest on a notch in the underwater mountain.<ref name=stevens />

In 2019, the missing bow section was located {{convert|1/4|nmi|mi km|spell=in|adj=pre|of a}} from the rest of the submarine on a slope of an underwater volcano at a depth of over {{convert|2,000|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/bow-of-ww-ii-us-submarine-discovered|title=Bow of WW II US submarine discovered|publisher=Fox News|date=31 July 2019|access-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802010127/https://www.foxnews.com/science/bow-of-ww-ii-us-submarine-discovered|archive-date=2 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= http://www.lost52project.org/Expedition-2018-Japan.html|title=Lost 52 Project :: Expedition 2018 Japan :: Bow section of USS Grunion}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/grunion.html}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category|USS Grunion (SS-216)|USS Grunion (SS-216)}}
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08216.htm  navsource.org: USS ''Grunion'']
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss216.txt  hazegray.org: USS ''Grunion'']
*[http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-grunion-216.htm On Eternal Patrol: USS ''Grunion'']
*[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5715082 The USS Grunion may have been Found]&nbsp;— a story at [[NPR#Digital media|NPR.org]]
*[https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2522266  ABCNews.com, 3 October 2006."Object Off Alaska Coast May Be WWII Sub"]  viewed 3 October 2006.
*[http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/05/lost.sub.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest After 64 years, relatives may have answers in sub sinking] viewed 5 October 2006 Defunct site prior to January 2011
*[http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070824/NATION/708240366&imw=Y Detroit sailor only one of WWII crew whose relatives can't be located] [[The Detroit News]] from 24 August 2007
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070827173458/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294356,00.html Wreckage of WWII submarine found off Aleutian Islands] dated 24 August 2007

{{Gato class submarine}}
{{July 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{Coord|52|14|16|N|177|25|5|E|display=title|type:event}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunion (Ss-216)}}
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:1942 in Alaska]]
[[Category:2007 in Alaska]]
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Alaska coast]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Bering Sea]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarine accidents caused by torpedoes]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1942]]