Experts Unravel The Mystery of The Lost WWII Submarine Grayback, 80 Years Later

They’re using an unmanned underwater vehicle to look for the sub and its crew, but as the underwater drone travels through the endless deep blue sea, it surprisingly malfunctions. The team retrieves the UUV to only find out inconspicuous data that compels them to go to uncharted depths of the ocean.

What they uncovered next will give you goosebumps.

The ill-fated voyage seemed to start productively. About a month after setting out, they reported that they’d sunk two Japanese vessels and damaged two others.

Their missile reserves nearly depleted, they were ordered to head for the Midway to restock. This is when their luck began to turn.

Days passed and hopes dwindled but were not lost, and when the Grayback still hadn’t appeared or contacted the base station, they were forced to declare the sub and its crew missing in action.

The disappearance of the craft itself was also a major loss for the allies, given its past 9 successful expeditions.

Around 40 years earlier, in 1900, this same shipyard also produced the very first submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy, the U.S.S. Holland.

This includes the sub that would eventually become the subject of this tale, a Tambor-class submarine. They built 12 of these ships, only 5 of which ended up surviving to see the end of the war.

This enabled them to travel all the way to Japanese territory and back. Pretty impressive for a vehicle that could displace 2,410 tons of water.

Especially when a crew of 80 is squeezed into a space for 60, as we have learned was the case on the fateful 1944 voyage.

This floating bastion also sported 2 large cannons and a 50 caliber machine gun, making it quite a formidable foe in aquatic battles.

This was essentially a trial voyage with simulated working conditions to test the performance of the craft. It passed and was subsequently ordered to begin patrolling the seas.

Its official commission into the U.S. Navy followed in June of that year. Five months later, the U.S. would become the next country to join the fray in WWII.

By 1942, the Grayback was headed for Hawaii, and then soon after – battle. The brand-new sub was about to hit the ground running.

There the crew encountered their first enemy, another sub, which fired two torpedoes at the Grayback. Fortunately, they missed.

A few weeks later, on March 17, they saw combat again. This time, they emerged victorious, having sunk the Ishikari Maru, a cargo vessel.

Though they endured rough seas and often shallow waters infested with enemy ships, they managed to actually do some damage to various foes. They were essential to maintaining territory for the allies.

Just a few days later, on Christmas, the ship surfaced and took 4 enemy crafts by surprise, sinking them handily.

They surfaced under cover of night and smuggled the stranded soldiers to safety. For their heroic rescue, the skipper was awarded the Navy Cross.

However, on January 17, they entered into a conflict with a destroyer that managed to sink 19 depth charges into the sub, causing dangerous leaks requiring repair.

Unfortunately, the radar, which had just been installed as part of the ship’s refurbishment, failed to function. That meant they couldn’t find a single ship.

They successfully sank two different enemy ships and seriously damaged a destroyer before being ordered back home for some upgrades and maintenance. 

It was also carrying a new commander, John Anderson Moore, sailing with its companion the U.S.S. Shad, a Gato-class sub. They were destined for the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean.

Together they formed what is commonly called a “wolfpack.” This turned out to be a pretty accurate moniker as, together,  the three boats formed a highly lethal team.

With the help of their teammates, the crew of the Grayback succeeded in sinking two adversary ships. Skipper John Moore, like his predecessor Stephan, was given the Navy Cross for their efforts.

They quickly entered a skirmish, taking out 4 ships with all the torpedoes they had on board. It was another victorious journey for the Grayback.

Back then, no one suspected that it would end in tragedy. Given the vessel’s history, hopes were high for another productive tour. 

The next morning initially brought more good news; another ship sunk and damage done to a second.

At the time, it was assumed that the sub had gone down off the coast of Okinawa, a small island in the Ryuku Island archipelago south of mainland Japan.

This misunderstanding meant that the downed sub’s actual location remained a mystery until well after the war was over.

With that goal in mind, he founded the Lost 52 project. This organization sought to locate lost craft from WWII using cutting edge technologies. 

It was a much older craft, commissioned back in 1919. It sank with its crew aboard in June of 1943 during a routine training exercise. 42 lives were lost in the tragic accident.

However, when war once again threatened the U.S., the sub was refitted and drafted back into service in July 1940.

The crew worked there for around a year. They were then ordered back to Connecticut where they patrolled the Atlantic waters until Pearl Harbor brought them back to Panama.

One exercise proved to be too much when, unexpectedly, the craft began to take on water. Attempts were made to save it, but it was too late.

The ones who survived were only spared because they were out on the deck when the incident occurred, and they were swept off and rescued.

This enabled them to capture the first images of the lost sub since it had sunk so many years earlier. They also gathered important data so as to prevent another tragedy.

52 subs were reported lost during WWII, and Taylor and his team resolved to find them all in honor of the over 3000 sailors who perished.

Using advanced technology, they’re able to document and subsequently create realistic renderings of their discoveries. This helps them uncover the mysteries these wayward ships can hold.

Ultimately, though, their objective is to uncover the truth and bring peace to the families and loved ones of the venerated sailors who lost their lives in these catastrophic wrecks.

The U.S.S. Stickleback, which was found near Honolulu, Hawaii, was actually lost during the Cold War. It collided with another sub during training and sank. 

The team’s Japanese translator and researcher was able to re-translate the documents and discovered the error. This gave them new data to work with and pointed them in a new direction.

The report described the true fate of the Grayback. It began with a standard Japanese bomber plane, a Nakajima B5N.

The plane dropped a bomb onto the unsuspecting submarine, blowing a hole in the hull and sending it sinking to the depths. No survivors were noted from the wreck. 

Upon careful review, it turned out the coordinates were different than they thought. The original estimation was shockingly off by about 100 miles, meaning past searches had no chance of finding the lost sub.

After lots of combing the nearby waters, the wreck of the ship was finally discovered. Surprisingly, the hull was still mostly intact after being submerged under the waves for over 70 years.

At the same time, this was the final resting place of 80 sailors, and the reality of that loss weighed heavily on the minds of the Lost 52 team.

Bringing solace to these families was the heart of Lost 52’s mission. By uncovering details about what happened, they could help tell the sailors’ story. 

Simply knowing, rather than wondering, what had happened to their loved ones enabled them to move forward and heal from the tragedy.

It first launched in San Diego, California. In a nod to the original craft, the widow of John Moore, the skipper from Grayback I, sponsored its first launch.

The updated craft employed new technology like a guided missile system, and successfully patrolled waters for 27 years before it was officially decommissioned from service.