Wreck of US sub lost in 1943 finally found

| September 17, 2020

USS Grenadier (SS-210) at launch

The USS Grenadier was a Tambor-class fleet submarine of the US Navy during WWII. The Tambor-class consisted of 12 ships with seven being lost during the war, the highest loss rate for any US submarine class in service during the war. Included in that was Grenadier, which was scuttled after being hit by Japanese bombs. All the crew survived the sinking, but only 72 of the 76 officers and men of Grenadier survived the Japanese prison camp conditions.

 Divers have found what they believe is the wreck of a U.S. Navy submarine lost 77 years ago in Southeast Asia, providing a coda to a stirring but little-known tale from World War II.

The divers have sent photos and other evidence from six dives they made from October 2019 to March this year to the United States Naval History and Heritage Command for verification that they have found the USS Grenadier, one of 52 American submarines lost during the conflict.

The King of Battle once again gets credit for the tip.

Source; Fox 8

Category: Historical, Navy, We Remember

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5th/77th FA

Thanks for posting the story of the USS Grenadier and the Warriors that served on her. “Fought off the attacking plane with small arms…” I would guess that the rapid improvements of sub design during the war is what made this Class of Boats only have 12 built. Lost 7 out of the 12 built. Any guesses as to whether that was due to design flaws, or just the odds of constantly sailing into harm’s way? T’Stixx and Combat Historian have tweaked my interest into the Pacific Theater.

A Salute to this Brave Boat, the Warriors that served Her, and the divers that found her resting place.

NHSparky

Susceptibility to battle damage (all 4 engines in same compartment) and relatively shallow test depth of 250 feet certainly didn’t help.

5th/77th FA

Tanks NHSparky, yep, either one of those design flaws would do it I would think. SnL was a tea kettle operator on Wyoming. Most of what I learned about subs came from Clancy’s Red October and Red Storm Rising. Nearly 40 years ago.

Which I guess, in the grand scheme of things back in the 1930s design time, 250 feet was pretty deep. And putting all the engines together made sense to them.

David

If 72 of 76 survived Japanese confinement, that is huge. The average Jap POW survival rate was closer to 40%. Witout checking, I recall something on the order of losing 16K out of 25K.