Story of the USS Grunion SS-216...

woofiedog · 01-03-09, 10:04 AM

After more than 65 years, brothers find their father's sunken World War II submarine.

http://cuatrotipos.files.wordpress.c...03/grunion.jpg

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0821606.jpg

Photos of the wreck: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08216d.htm

NBC New's USS Grunion video clip:

The submarine Grunion arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 20, 1942. The vessel completed pre-patrol training before departing on its first war patrol June 30. Grunion's commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Abele, was ordered to proceed to the Aleutian Islands and patrol westward from Attu on routes between the Aleutians and the Japanese Empire. On July 10, Grunion was reassigned to the area north of Kiska. Over the next 20 days, the submarine reported firing on an enemy destroyer, sinking three destroyer-type vessels, and attacking unidentified enemy ships near Kiska.
Grunion's last transmission was received on July 30, 1942. The submarine reported heavy antisubmarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes remaining forward. On the same day, Grunion was directed to return to Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base. There was no contact or sighting of the submarine after July 30, and on August 16, Grunion was reported lost.

On the morning of 31 July 1942 a Japanese troop transport was attacked by Grunion. Only one of the four torpedoes hit and detonated, and Grunion surfaced to finish her target by gunfire. However, Kano Maru returned fire with her own three-inch deck gun and .50-caliber machine guns. Allegedly, a single shell hit on Grunion's conning tower sank her.

Lt. Cmdr. Jim Abele commanded the USS Grunion, a submarine sunk during World War II.

gimpy117 · 01-04-09, 01:36 AM

One theory is a circle runner...maybe the tang wasn't the only one...:hmm:

it would explain the massive damage such as 23 feet of missing bow
the rear damage could be Implosion damage...etc.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mbrewste...hOfTheGrunion#

woofiedog · 01-04-09, 02:35 AM

There is more to that story of a circling torpedo here in this link: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08216e.htm

And it might very well have been the sad fate of the crew of the USS Grunion. By the looks of the extensive damage to the sub... it would seem that a bit more than a hit by the deck gun could have made this possible. http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0821679.jpg

jazzabilly · 01-04-09, 03:14 AM

The circle running torpedo seems to be the most likely hypothesis; the crew of the merchant that she was attacking heard a loud "bang" and that was that. Her hatches were open when they found her, which indicates that she was on the surface when she went down.

Probably the same thing killed Prien as well. C'est la guerre.

gimpy117 · 01-04-09, 12:19 PM

actually the people who found her think her hatches were blown open "by massive internal Pressure" (when she reached crush depth). you can still see in the pictures that the dogs are still engaged.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mbrewste...sis2OpenHatch#

On The Bottom · 06-08-21, 12:43 PM

Hi folks. New member here. Looks like an interesting group. Thanks for the add.

Was wondering if anyone would be interested in further discussion regarding the USS Grunion. I was in the group that was working on the attack analysis and have a differing opinion of how the sub and her crew met their end. God rest them all.

01-03-09, 10:04 AM	#1
woofiedog Engineer Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New England Posts: 216 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Story of the USS Grunion SS-216... After more than 65 years, brothers find their father's sunken World War II submarine. http://cuatrotipos.files.wordpress.c...03/grunion.jpg http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0821606.jpg Photos of the wreck: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08216d.htm NBC New's USS Grunion video clip: The submarine Grunion arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 20, 1942. The vessel completed pre-patrol training before departing on its first war patrol June 30. Grunion's commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Abele, was ordered to proceed to the Aleutian Islands and patrol westward from Attu on routes between the Aleutians and the Japanese Empire. On July 10, Grunion was reassigned to the area north of Kiska. Over the next 20 days, the submarine reported firing on an enemy destroyer, sinking three destroyer-type vessels, and attacking unidentified enemy ships near Kiska. Grunion's last transmission was received on July 30, 1942. The submarine reported heavy antisubmarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes remaining forward. On the same day, Grunion was directed to return to Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base. There was no contact or sighting of the submarine after July 30, and on August 16, Grunion was reported lost. On the morning of 31 July 1942 a Japanese troop transport was attacked by Grunion. Only one of the four torpedoes hit and detonated, and Grunion surfaced to finish her target by gunfire. However, Kano Maru returned fire with her own three-inch deck gun and .50-caliber machine guns. Allegedly, a single shell hit on Grunion's conning tower sank her. Lt. Cmdr. Jim Abele commanded the USS Grunion, a submarine sunk during World War II. __________________ Last edited by woofiedog; 01-03-09 at 10:13 AM.

01-04-09, 01:36 AM	#2
gimpy117 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 3,243 Downloads: 108 Uploads: 0	One theory is a circle runner...maybe the tang wasn't the only one...:hmm: it would explain the massive damage such as 23 feet of missing bow the rear damage could be Implosion damage...etc. http://picasaweb.google.com/mbrewste...hOfTheGrunion# __________________ Member of the Subsim Zombie Army

01-04-09, 02:35 AM	#3
woofiedog Engineer Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New England Posts: 216 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	There is more to that story of a circling torpedo here in this link: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08216e.htm And it might very well have been the sad fate of the crew of the USS Grunion. By the looks of the extensive damage to the sub... it would seem that a bit more than a hit by the deck gun could have made this possible. http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0821679.jpg __________________

01-04-09, 03:14 AM	#4
jazzabilly Planesman Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 186 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	The circle running torpedo seems to be the most likely hypothesis; the crew of the merchant that she was attacking heard a loud "bang" and that was that. Her hatches were open when they found her, which indicates that she was on the surface when she went down. Probably the same thing killed Prien as well. C'est la guerre. __________________ If it's a fair fight, then you didn't plan it properly. ====================================

01-04-09, 12:19 PM	#5
gimpy117 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 3,243 Downloads: 108 Uploads: 0	actually the people who found her think her hatches were blown open "by massive internal Pressure" (when she reached crush depth). you can still see in the pictures that the dogs are still engaged. http://picasaweb.google.com/mbrewste...sis2OpenHatch# __________________ Member of the Subsim Zombie Army

06-08-21, 12:43 PM	#6
On The Bottom Nub Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Hi folks. New member here. Looks like an interesting group. Thanks for the add. Was wondering if anyone would be interested in further discussion regarding the USS Grunion. I was in the group that was working on the attack analysis and have a differing opinion of how the sub and her crew met their end. God rest them all.