March 2008
Feature Article
A Warrior's Final Resting Place is Located
USS Grunion (SS 216)
Another sunken United States Submarine has been laid to rest after nearly 66 years. During World War II, the United States lost 52 submarines and over 3500 men, approximately 20 percent of the force. Most of those submarines and their crews have never been located and most likely never will be.
For one boat, USS Grunion SS216, the mystery has been solved.
Grunion’s keel was laid 1 March 1941 and she was launched 22 December 1941, the first submarine to be launched at Groton’s Electric Boat shipyard following declaration of war and the first to go down EB’s new ways at the North Yard. Grunion was commissioned 11 April 1942 under command of LCDR Mannert L. (Jim) Abele.
Grunion departed New London on 24 May 1942. LCDR Abele, his wife Catherine and three sons – Bruce 12, Brad 9, and John 5 had enjoyed lunch together at the Submarine Base Officer’s Club. Following lunch, LCDR Abele sent his family home saying he had to remain at the base to do some work. Later that afternoon, Grunion sailed.
Grunion arrived at Pearl Harbor on 20 June 1942 and following ten days load out and preparation departed Pearl on 30 June 1942 for her first war patrol. Grunion had orders to proceed to the Aleutians for her first patrol. On July 10 Grunion was assigned to patrol north of Kiska, the Japanese having occupied both Aku and Kiska islands on the western end of the Aleutians on 10 June. On 15 July, LCDR Abele reported engaging and sinking three “destroyer type” vessels. These were later determined to be three new Japanese sub chasers of which # 25 and # 27 were sunk, and #26 was damaged.
Grunion’s last transmission was sent on 30 July. She was announced as “overdue and presumed lost on 5 October 1942, the fifth United States Submarine lost since the war had begun.
What happened to Grunion was a mystery for over 50 years following WWII. In around 2001, a Japanese trade publication, Maru Magazine issued a reprint of a 1963 article from the same magazine in which a submarine attack on the transport ship Kano Maru was described. The attack occurred on 31 July 1942, resulting in the Kano Maru being severely damaged by one of five torpedoes fired from the submarine and the apparent sinking of the submarine by a hit from Kano Maru’s 80 mm gun. According to CDR John Alden, USN (Ret) this accounting had also apparently been published by the British Journal Warships in the 1980’s but received no attention in the U.S.
The article mentioned above had been written by former Japanese Navy Captain Seiichi Aiura who was master or “superintendent” on Kano Maru. The article was titled “We have sunk US Submarine”. In it Mr. Aiura describes, in detail, an attack during which a total of six torpedoes were fired at Kano Maru by an attacking submarine. One of the torpedoes hit Kano Maru and exploded, flooding the machinery room and knocking the generator and radio gear out of commission; three missed, and two hit but failed to explode. The terrified crew of Kano Maru fought back using an 80mm deck gun. At least one shot from the 80mm gun hit the sub’s conning tower as the sub appeared to be surfacing. Then the submarine disappeared a dull explosion was heard, a column of water was observed; finally some oil and debris.
Aiura reported the attack to his superiors who reported it up the chain, but the report was apparently lost (or disregarded) because there was no record of the attack reported in official Japanese records. The US Navy, for its part, although listing Grunion as “missing and presumed lost” never attributed that loss to enemy action.
LCDR Jim Abele’s sons never gave up in their quest to learn the fate of their father, his ship and crew. In 2002, while reviewing the Commander Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet web site, they came across an update describing the encounter between Grunion and Kano Maru from the article written by Mr. Aiura. That information helped them with a datum and they began a plan to locate the submarine. In August 2006, a team hired by the Abele brothers located a side scan sonar target near Kiska that was the right size and shape to be a submarine.
The following year the Abele brothers returned to the site with a search team aboard the fishing vessel Aquila. On August 22, 2007, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) designated “Max Rover” deployed from Aquila located sunken submarine wreckage in the exact location the shape had been located the previous year. The positive identification as a submarine, the location, and the key piece of evidence, Gato class submarine propeller guards, led the team to conclude they had found Grunion. The prop guards were key. Most Gato class boats deployed during WWII removed the prop guards prior to sailing. However, authority to do so has not been granted until 1943 so Grunion sailed with her prop guards installed. Additionally, there were no other Gato class submarines lost in this area, thus the logical conclusion; Grunion had been found.
Over 3000 photographs, 50 hours of video, including 3.5 hours of high definition video, of the wreckage has been produced. News of the discovery was carried by major news organizations nationwide. NBC’s Today Show ran a segment devoted to the discovery of Grunion, so the word was out.
The goal now for the Abele’s is to determine, if possible, how Grunion was lost. Was it the hit on the conning tower from Kano Maru’s 80mm gun, one of her own torpedoes that missed their target and circled around to hit Grunion or some other unknown catastrophe onboard? To help solve that problem many albums of photographs have been posted on the web site www.ussgrunion.com. The Abele brothers have asked for help from interested, knowledgeable individuals and have made copies of the HD video available to those willing to study it, looking for clues as to what exactly caused the loss of the ship. One day hopefully the final chapter will be written.
Families of all 70 crew members lost aboard Grunion have been located. A memorial service is planned at the USS Cod Memorial in Cleveland Ohio, sometime around Columbus Day weekend (October 10-12).
Those interested in learning more about USS Grunion may visit the web site www.ussgrunion.com and the many links on that web site; one is able to read details from the Japanese viewpoint of the attack, learn all about the expedition that located Grunion, view hundreds of photographs, and review the attack log on the blog where the attack is being analyzed. It is all fascinating material.
Notice of Annual Meeting
The 35th Annual Meeting of the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association will take place on Friday, May 9 at the Museum. The museum doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and the meeting will commence at 5:45 p.m. Nautilus will be open for tours until 7:00 p.m. A reception will follow the short business meeting from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. All members in good standing are invited to attend and to bring a spouse or one guest.
Election of Association Officers for 2008 will be held during the short business meeting. Any member in good standing may submit nominations for the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer. Each nomination must identify the office for which the individual is being nominated and must include a written statement from the nominee indicating that he/she consents and will accept the nomination and serve if elected. Nominations will close 72 hours prior to the commencement of the Annual Meeting. Submit nominations to CAPT Arne C. Johnson USN (Ret), 186 Jerry Browne Rd, #1043, Mystic, CT 06355-3052.
Association Secretary Changes
As most of you know, we have always enjoyed having the incumbent Submarine Base New London Commanding Officer serve as the Secretary for the Submarine Force Library & Museum. However, new joint ethics regulations prohibit active duty personnel from being an officer of the organization or from occupying any position that would indicate authority or management of the organization. So, the current base CO, CAPT Mark Ginda, has stepped down as secretary. Happily, he is able to remain on the board as Navy Liaison, so we will continue to benefit from his participation and advice.
The Executive Board has appointed the association Executive Director, CAPT Mike Riegel, USN (Ret) as acting secretary until the annual meeting.
Library Card Catalog On Line
Hooray! Following a multi year effort, we have finally made significant progress towards the goal of one day having the Submarine Force Library holdings available on line.
The library card catalog is now available on line. You can get there a couple of ways. Go to the museum web site, www.ussnautilus.org, click on Library and Archives Info then select “click here for our online catalog”. Or, you can navigate there directly from your web browser by going to http://subforcecatalog.surpasssoftware.com/subforce/.
So, go visit the site, take a tour around and check it out. Give us your feedback on what you think.