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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

Grampus (SS-207)

Gar Class Submarine: Laid down, 14 February 1940, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 23 December 1940; Commissioned, USS Grampus (SS-207), 23 May 1941; Sunk by Japanese destroyers in Blackett Strait, 5 March 1943; Struck from the Naval Register, 21 June 1943. Grampus received three battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,475 t., Submerged: 2,370 t.; Length 307' 2"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 13' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 5 Officers, 54 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 dual purpose deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, four General Motors Co., diesel engines, 5.400 hp, Fuel Capacity, 96,365 gals., four General Electric Co., electric motors, 2,740 hp, Battery cells 252, twin propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
17k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Grampus's (SS-207) keel laying at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.,14 February 1940.	Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
29k	Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Grampus (SS-207) at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 23 December 1940.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
21k	Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Grampus (SS-207) at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 23 December 1940.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
42k	The Grampus (SS-207), probably off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941.	Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
89k	Electric Boat Co. photo of Grampus (SS-207) off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941.	US National Archives photo # (19-N-23818), a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
19k	Commemorative postal cover & photo inset marking the commissioning of the Grampus (SS-207), 23 May 1941.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
29k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Grampus's (SS-207) first day in commission, 23 May 1941.	Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
22k	Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Grampus (SS-207), 23 May 1941.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
20k	Commemorative postal cover marking Navy Day, 27 October 1941 and the following submarines commissioned since the previous year: Trout (SS-202), Tuna (SS-203), Mackerel (SS-204), Marlin (SS-205), Gar (SS-206), Grampus (SS-207), Grayback (SS-208), Grayling (SS-209), Grenadier (SS-210) & Gudgeon(SS-211).	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
99k	In memory of the Grampus (SS-207).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
26k	John Rich Craig, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Grampus (SS-207) at the time of her loss.	USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
62k	Drawing of the Japanese *Asashio class* destroyer *Minegumo, which, along with the destroyer Murasame, sank the Grampus* (SS-207).	Courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
62k	Drawing of the Japanese *Shiratsuyu class* destroyer *Murasame* which, along with the destroyer *Minegumo, sank the Grampus* (SS-207).	Courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
52k	Google Earth satellite photo of the site and surrounding islands of Grampus (SS-207) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the *Grampus* and her crew.	View courtesy of Google Earth.
66k	Map area showing Blackett Strait, where the Grampus (SS-207) was lost.	Photo courtesy of destroyerhistory.org by D.W. McComb.
117k	The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"	U.S. Navy photo N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
84k	Electric Boat Co. photo of Grampus (SS-207) off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941. In a little more than 2 years after this photo was taken, *Grampus* and all her company would be M.I.A. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."	US National Archives photo # (19-N-23816), a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.