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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Grayback (SS-208)

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - Kilo - Foxtrot

Gar Class Submarine: Laid down, 3 April 1940, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 31 January 1941; Commissioned, USS Grayback (SS-208), 30 June 1941; Lost to enemy action, sunk by Japanese carrier based aircraft and anti-submarine surface units, 27 February 1944 in the East China Sea; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown); Grayback received two Navy Unit Commendations and eight 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
240k	All decked up with bunting and nowhere to go except the ocean, the Grayback (SS-208) slides down the launching ways at Electric Boat on 31 Jan 1941.	US Navy Photo courtesy of Darryl Baker.
28k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Grayback's (SS-208) launching, 3 April 1940, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
72k	Grayback (SS-208), port side view, probably just after launching at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 31 January 1941.	U.S. National Archives # 43-1324a.
54k	Grayback (SS-208), port side view, probably just after launching at the Electric Boat Co.	Courtesy of MMCM (SS) Greg Peterman USN, Retired.
50k	Color-tinted postcard of the Grayback (SS-208), port side view, probably just after launching at the Electric Boat Co.	US Navy Photo courtesy of pelicanharborsubvets.com.
24k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Grayback's (SS-208) first day in service, 30 June 1941.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
20k	Commemorative postal cover on the occasion of Grayback's (SS-208) first day in service, 30 June 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.
132k	Stern view of the Grayback (SS-208) off San Francisco (Hunter's Point) on 26 August 1943.	US Navy Photo # 6137-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
131k	Broadside view of the Grayback (SS-208) off San Francisco on 26 August 1943.	US Navy Photo # 6139-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
96k	Bow on view of the Grayback (SS-208) off San Francisco on 26 August 1943.	US Navy Photo # 6141-43, courtesy of Darryl Baker.
88k	Map area showing the East China & Yellow Seas, where the Grayback (SS-208) was believed to be at the time of her loss.	Photo courtesy of CIA World Factbook / wikipedia.org.
46k	Google Earth satellite photo of the Grayback (SS-208) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the *Grayback* and her crew.	View courtesy of Google Earth.
38k	In memory of the Grayback (SS-208).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.
10k	John Anderson Moore, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Grayback (SS-208) at the time of her loss.	US Navy photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
132k	On 2 July 1957, upon the occasion of the launching of the Grayback (SSG-574), the sponsor was presented with several gifts during the reception which followed the launching. Shown are RADM M. J. Lawrence (Shipyard Commander), Mrs. John A. Moore (Sponsor), Mr. I. H. Whitthorne (President of Master's and Foreman's Association), and Mr. Ernest D. Wichels (President of the Navy Yard Association). Mrs. Moore is the widow of the commanding officer of the 1st Grayback (SS-208).	U.S. Navy photo # NY-9-35070-7-57, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
132k	Mrs. John A. Moore, Sponsor of the Grayback (SSG-574) vists the ship in dry dock 4 at Mare Island on 3 July 1957. RADM M. J. Lawrence, USN, Shipyard Commander and Capt E. J. Fahy, USN, Production Officer are seen with her. The building in the background is the yard's machine shop. The cupola in the right corner of the pcture is the periscope test tower for the optical shop which was on the top of the building. Periscopes were suspended from the ceiling and scopes head window projected into the cupola for test and calibration.	U.S. Navy photo # NY9 35079-7-57, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
156k	This is the historic data plate made to commemorate the recommissioning of the Grayback (LPSS-574), 25 July 1969 and in memorium of the first Grayback (SS-208), lost to enemy action, sunk by Japanese carrier based aircraft and anti-submarine surface units, 27 February 1944 in the East China Sea.	U.S. Navy photo # MSA-9-3334-7-69, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
14k	Commemorative postal cover marking the first Grayback (SS-208) and the second Grayback (SS-574), on 21 June 1982.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
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.
26k	Grayback (SS-208), underway, starboard view 26 August 1943, off San Francisco. In a little more than 6 months from the date of this photo, the boat and her entire crew 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 / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./"	Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.