#USS GRAYBACK

[thedawgsblog]

AN 80 YEAR OLD MYSTERY OF THE LOST 52 PROJECT SOLVED WITH THE FINDING OF THE USS GRAYBACK

AN 80 YEAR OLD MYSTERY OF THE LOST 52 PROJECT SOLVED WITH THE FINDING OF THE USS GRAYBACK

It was the summer of 2019, and a crew of modern explorers known as “the Lost 52 project” led by Tim Taylor, were searching the open seas on a mysterious mission. An almost 80-year mystery is laid to rest right around Veteran’s Day with the discovery of the “USS Grayback” (SS-208), one of the most famous and decorated World War II submarines, that disappeared in 1944 with 80 crewmembers…

View On WordPress

#80 YR MYSTERY #LOST 52 PROJECT #USS GRAYBACK

[captain-price-unofficially]

USS Grayback (SSG-574) prepares to launch a Regulus II cruise missile, September 1958

#naval #Cold War

[usafphantom2]

My Dad, Butch Sheffield was very proud of this mission Operation Thunderhead” to alert the POW’s that it was time to escape. He wrote the mission plan and flew on both May 2 and May 4 missions. I will share later what he wrote about this mission. The flowing was written by Paul Crickmore.

By 1972, it has been reported that covert communication into Hoa Lo had become possible by the limited use of a radio, infiltrated into the prison by the CIA. A plan formulated by Capt John Dramesi to escape with a fellow POW between Jun. 1 and 15, steal a boat and travel down the Red River to the Gulf of Tonkin, where they could be rescued by a team of US special forces was communicated to the camp’s senior ranking officer (SRO). Once approved, it was communicated to the ONI and then escalated to the very top of the chain of command – the commander-in-chief, President Richard Nixon, who also approved the audacious plan.

In April 1972, the submarine USS Grayback (LPSS 574), under the command of Cdr John Chamberlain, slipped its moorings at Subic Bay, Philippines and put to sea. Onboard was US Navy SEAL Team One and Underwater Demolition Team 11 (UDT-11). The plan, Operation Thunderhead, developed by Lt Cdr Edwin Towers, the officer in charge (OIC), involved the SEAL team infiltrating an island in the Red River estuary using underwater swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs). From there they’d provide surveillance, which would be enhanced by up to four flights per day of a wider area conducted by HH-3As from Detachment 110, Helicopter Support Squadron 7 (HC-7), from USS

Midway.  To cover Dramesi’s escape plan, the operation was to be run from May 29 to Jun. 19.

To ensure that the POWs directly involved in Operation Thunderhead were fully aware of the CinC’s approval of the plan, a unique covert signal was devised – two tri-sonic booms, exactly 15 seconds apart, would ring out over Hanoi on May 2 and 4. To generate this ‘sound of freedom’, the services of two SR-71s would be required. However, since the mission was so critical, a third airborne spare would also be launched as a hedge against any last-minute mechanical problems that might interfere with the signal’s timing.

At precisely 14:16 on May 2, 1972, Maj Bob Spencer and Maj Butch Sheffield were airborne in ‘979, followed just two minutes later by Lt Col Darryl Cobb and Maj Reggie Blackwell in ‘980. At 15:22 Maj Dave Fruehauf and Maj Gil Martinez launched in ‘968.

On May 4, Majs Tom Pugh and Ronnie Rice approached Hanoi in aircraft ‘968 at 75,000ft from the south, while Majs Bob Spencer and Butch Sheffield maintained 80,000ft in ‘980 and flew across the target from the south-east. Meanwhile, Lt Col Darrel Cobb and Maj Reggie Blackwell were the airborne spare in ‘978; they were to cross the ‘Hilton’ at 70,000ft from the west should either of the primary aircraft have to abort. When the pre-arranged code word was transmitted, Darryl broke off his run short of the target area.

Both missions were termed ‘entirely successful’ and accomplished their objective within the very tight time constraints, while reconnaissance gathering was of secondary importance to the signal.

Unknown to the planners on the ‘outside’, however, there was a major issue with the SRO in Dramesi’s room, who’d become aware of the plan. Despite the escape committee having determined that the plan had a 90 percent chance of success, he’d gone to the camp SRO and reminded him of the repercussions felt by the rest of the POWs after Dramesi’s and Atterberry’s earlier escape attempt. The appeal caused the camp SRO to reverse his earlier decision.

He withdrew permission to conduct the escape and ordered the escape committee to stand down. Since there weren’t the means to communicate this decision quickly enough, Operation Thunderhead was launched regardless. It was eventually called off after a number of mishaps, one of which resulted in the death of Navy SEAL Lt Melvin Spencer Dry.

@Habubrats71 via X

[stefanfrankingiii4]

[cassidymomma]

I found this on NewsBreak: USS Grayback (SS-208) Resurfaced After 75 Years; What Was Onboard Was Unexpected

[newscow]

WWII Submarine USS Grayback Discovered 75 Years After Sinking

WWII Submarine USS Grayback Discovered 75 Years After Sinking

Thousands of ships that went missing during WWI and WWII found their last refuge deep under the ocean waves. Researchers have discovered the exact or approximate locations of at least a few hundred vessels, but the fate of some still remains a mystery. Search expeditions scour the waters of the world’s oceans, checking the archives in the hope of finding information pointing to the location of…

View On WordPress

[nelc]

USS Grayback launching a Regulus II, an early US cruise missile

#monochrome #USS Grayback #submarine #Regulus II #cruise missile #launch #maritime

[sixfrigates]

March 7, 1958. USS Grayback (SSG-574) is commissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California. Grayback was one of the Navy’s first guided missile submarines. She took part in the Regulus program before being converted to deliver Navy SEALs. The first picture shows her with a Regulus I type missile. The second shows her with a Regulus II type missile. Due to the project’s cancellation, no boats ever made deterrent patrols with Regulus II missiles.

#naval history #united states #navy #history #submarines #regulus #guided missiles #uss grayback #on this day #otd #commissioning

[thepianomaker]

USS Grayback (SSG-574), preparing to launch a Regulus II missile

#US Navy #USS Grayback #SSG-574 #Submarine #Regulus II #Missile

[navalpost]

Wreckage of USS Grayscale Submarine Found After 75 Years A missing U.S. submarine , which was widely used in World War II, was found in Okinawa (off the coast of Japan) after more than 75 years of its disappearance.

#Lost 52 #naval news #Okinawa #Submarine #U.S. Navy #USS Grayback #WWII

[warhistoryonline]

[theworldismyoysterandiamthepearl]

“The Grayback sailed out of Pearl Harbor on January 28th, 1944, for its 10th combat patrol. Two months later, it was listed as missing and presumed lost.

Earlier this year, using new information, private explorers located the wreck of the Grayback under 1,400 feet of water. Tim Taylor, who heads the Lost 52 Project, told The New York Times his team was "elated" by the discovery. "But it's also sobering, because we just found 80 men," he said.”

quote and pic from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missing-submarine-found-uss-grayback-missing-75-years-found-off-okinawa-japan-according-to-lost-52-project/

#USSGrayback #submarine #veterans #found #respect

[gage0mate]

[oldpoet56]

USS Grayback, U.S. submarine missing for 75 years, found off Okinawa, Japan

USS Grayback, U.S. submarine missing for 75 years, found off Okinawa, Japan

(THIS ARTICLE IS COURTESY OF CBS NEWS)

  USS Grayback, U.S. submarine missing for 75 years, found off Okinawa, Japan

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 / 9:54 AM / CBS NEWS

A U.S. Navy submarine missing for 75 years has been found off Okinawa, Japan. The USS Grayback was discovered in June, according to the Lost 52 Project, a group of undersea explorers whose mission is to find the wrecks of…

View On WordPress

#Grayback #Okinawa #SUNKEN SUBMARINE #USS Grayback #WW II

[argunners]

Private explorers of the Lost 52 Project have finally solved the mystery of the US Navy Submarine, USS Grayback (SS-208), after 75 years. Although the wreck was found on June 5th, they officially announced the discovery on November 10, 2019. The wreck was kept hidden for decades due a single digit error in the Japanese wartime records.

Japanese amateur researcher, Yutaka Iwasaki, discovered the error last year. In a daily report from February 27, 1944, he found that a Nakajima B5N carrier-based bomber had dropped a bomb on a surfaced US submarine, causing the submarine to explode and sink immediately. However in the historical records from just after the war, a single digit errant gave the wrong last known location.

Grayback (SS-208) photographed in 1941. (Courtesy: Naval History and Heritage Comand. Catalog# NH 53771.)

“In that radio record, there is a longitude and a latitude of the attack, very clearly,” Mr. Iwasaki said in an interview with the New York Times. “And it did not match what was in the 1949 Navy history, not by a hundred miles.”

After sailing out on January 28, 1944 for her tenth and final combat patrol, the USS Grayback met her fate on 27 February 1944. The USS Grayback (208) suffered damage when a land-based Japanese naval aircraft attacked her in the East China Sea on Febr. 26, but sank the naval transport Ceylon Maru the next day. That same day, a Japanese carrier-based plane spotted a submarine on the surface in the East China Sea and attacked. According to Japanese reports the submarine “exploded and sank immediately,” nonetheless antisubmarine craft were called in to depth-charge the area, clearly marked by a trail of air bubbles, until at last a heavy oil slick swelled to the surface.

Slated to reach Midway on 7 March 1944, Grayback did not arrive as scheduled. She was listed as overdue, presumed lost, on 30 March 1944. She ranked 20th among all submarines in total tonnage sunk with 63,835 tons and 24th in number of ships sunk with 14.

Now after 75 years, she’s finally discovered, lying 1,400 feet deep on the ocean’s floor. With her, lie the remains of 80 sailors, who went down with her. [Note: On Eternal Patrol you can find her full crewlist.]

You can learn more about Lost Project 52 here.

The USS Grayback, Missing for 75 Years, Is Discovered Off Okinawa Private explorers of the Lost 52 Project have finally solved the mystery of the US Navy Submarine, USS Grayback (SS-208), after 75 years.

#Imperial Japanese Navy #Submarine #US Navy #USS Grayback

[uss-edsall]

USN Submarines lost with All Hands

USS F-4 (SS-21) was lost on 25-Mar-1915 with the loss of 21 officers and men when she foundered off Honolulu Harbor.

USS S-4 (SS-109) was lost on 17-Dec-1927 with the loss of 40 officers and men when she was sunk after ramming by USCG Paulding.

USS O-9 (SS-70) was lost on 20-Jun-1941 with the loss of 33 officers and men when she foundered off Isle of Shoals, 15 miles from Portsmouth NH, 42°-59'-48"N 20°-20'-27"W

USS S-26 (SS-131) was lost on 24-Jan-1942 with the loss of 46 officers and men when he was sunk after ramming by USS PC-460 in the Gulf of Panama, 14 Miles West of San Jose Light.

USS Shark (SS-174) was lost on 11-Feb-1942 with the loss of 59 officers and men when she was sunk East of Menado, Celebes as a result of one of 3 attacks. (11Feb42 E of Menado, 17 Feb 42 N of Kendari, or 21 Feb 42 E of Kendari)

USS Grunion (SS-216) was lost on 1-Aug-1942 with the loss of 70 officers and men when she was sunk near entrance to Kiska (Alaska) Harbor

USS Argonaut (SS-166) was lost on 10-Jan-1943 with the loss of 102 officers and men when she was sunk off Rabaul near 05 155N 153 50E; (Another location given as 5° 40S 152° 02 E)

USS Amberjack (SS-219) was lost on 16-Feb-1943 with the loss of 72 officers and men when she was sunk off Rabaul; Last Contact at 5° 05S 152° 37E

USS Grampus (SS-207) was lost on 5-Mar-1943 with the loss of 71 officers and men when she was sunk in the Blackett Strait; Possibly in Vella Gulf, last contacts at 4° 55S 152° 30 E

USS Triton (SS-201) was lost on 15-Mar-1943 with the loss of 74 officers and men when she was sunk at 0° 09N 144° 55E

USS Pickerel (SS-177) was lost on 3-Apr-1943 with the loss of 74 officers and men when she was sunk within sight of Shiranuka Light off Honshu. 

USS R-12 (SS-89) was lost on 12-Jun-1943 with the loss of 42 officers and men when she foundered off Key West, 24° 24'30"N 81° 28'30"

USS Runner (SS-275) was lost on 1-Jul-1943 with the loss of 78 officers and men when she was sunk somewhere between Midway and Hokkaido

USS Pompano (SS-181) was lost on 1-Sep-1943 with the loss of 76 officers and men when she was sunk off the northeast coast of Honshu

USS Grayling (SS-209) was lost on 9-Sep-1943 with the loss of 77 officers and men when she was sunk in or near Tablas Strait, PI.

USS Cisco (SS-290) was lost on 28-Sep-1943 with the loss of 76 officers and men when she was sunk in Sulu Sea west of Mindinao, 9° 47N 121°44 E

USS Wahoo (SS-238) was lost on 11-Oct-1943 with the loss of 80 officers and men when she was sunk in or near La Perouse Strait

USS Dorado (SS-248) was lost on 12-Oct-1943 with the loss of 77 officers and men when she was sunk in Western Atlantic, possibly near Cuba

USS Corvina (SS-226) was lost on 16-Nov-1943 with the loss of 82 officers and men when she was sunk just south of Truk; (Attack at 151° 10E 5° 50N).

USS Capelin (SS-289) was lost on 1-Dec-1943 with the loss of 76 officers and men when she was sunk off Celebes possibly off Kaoe Bay; Halmahera 1° 34N 123° 07 or in Molukka Passage

USS Scorpion (SS-278) was lost on 1-Feb-1944 with the loss of 77 officers and men when she was sunk East China Sea.

USS Grayback (SS-208) was lost on 26-Feb-1944 with the loss of 80 officers and men when she was sunk near 25 47N 128-45E.

USS Trout (SS-202) was lost on 29-Feb-1944 with the loss of 81 officers and men when she was sunk near 22-40N, 131-45 E, middle of Philippines Basin.

USS Gudgeon (SS-211) was lost on 12-May-1944 with the loss of 79 officers and men when she was sunk off Saipan near Maug Island.

USS Herring (SS-233) was lost on 1-Jun-1944 with the loss of 83 officers and men when she was sunk within shore battery range of Point Tagan, Matsuwa Island, in Kurlies.

USS S-28 (SS-133) was lost on 4-Jun-1944 with the loss of 49 officers and men when she foundered off Hawaii , while operating with USCGC Reliance

USS Golet (SS-361) was lost on 14-Jun-1944 with the loss of 82 officers and men when she was sunk near 41-04N 140-13E

USS Growler (SS-215) was lost on 8-Jul-1944 with the loss of 86 officers and men when she was sunk in South China Sea

USS Robalo (SS-273) was lost on 26-Jul-1944 with the loss of 81 officers and men when she was sunk 2 miles off west coast of Palawan

USS Harder (SS-257) was lost on 24-Aug-1944 with the loss of 79 officers and men when she was sunk off Caiman Point, RPI

USS Escolar (SS-294) was lost on 1-Oct-1944 with the loss of 82 officers and men when she was sunk somewhere east of 33-44N 127-33E; Heading for 33° 44 N 124° 06E

USS Shark (SS-314) was lost on 24-Oct-1944 with the loss of 87 officers and men when she was sunk in channel midway between Hainan and Bashi Channel; 20° 41N 118° 27E

USS Seawolf (SS-197) was lost on 30-Oct-1944 with the loss of 100 officers and men when she was sunk just north of Morotai, between PI and Indonesia, by USS Rowell; 02°-32 N 129° 18E

USS Albacore (SS-218) was lost on 7-Nov-1944 with the loss of 85 officers and men when she was sunk near 41 49N 141 11E in channel between Hokkaido and Honshu

USS Scamp (SS-277) was lost on 16-Nov-1944 with the loss of 83 officers and men when she was sunk off Inubo Saki near Tokyo Bay

USS Barbel (SS-316) was lost on 4-Feb-1945 with the loss of 81 officers and men when she was sunk in southern entrance to Palawan Passage 7° 49.5S -- 116° 47.5 SW Palawan

USS Swordfish (SS-193) was lost on 15-Feb-1945 with the loss of 89 officers and men when she was sunk near Yaku Island off Kyushu, water <600' deep near island; ( 27° 00 N; 128° 40 E).

USS Kete (SS-369) was lost on 1-Mar-1945 with the loss of 87 officers and men when she was sunk somewhere between 29-38N 130-02E and Midway

USS Trigger (SS-237) was lost on 28-Mar-1945 with the loss of 89 officers and men when she was sunk in area 32 16N> 30 40N by 132 05E> 127 50E, (Maybe near 32° 16 N 132° 05 E)

USS Snook (SS-279) was lost on 8-Apr-1945 with the loss of 84 officers and men when she was sunk within 100 miles East of 18 40N 111 39E, near Hainan Island < 300 feet

USS Lagarto (SS-371) was lost on 30-May-1945 with the loss of 86 officers and men when she was sunk off Malay Coast in or near the Gulf of Siam 7° 55N 102° 00E

USS Bonefish (SS-223) was lost on 18-Jun-1945 with the loss of 85 officers and men when she was sunk in Toyama Wan; Near Suzu Misaki; 37° 18N 137° 25E;

USS Bullhead (SS-332) was lost on 6-Aug-1945 with the loss of 84 officers and men when it was sunk in West end of Lombok Strait

USS Thresher (SS-593) was lost on 10-Apr-1963 with the loss of 129 officers and men when she was sunk while on sea trials near Isle of Shoals.

USS Scorpion (SS-589) was lost on 27-May-1968 with the loss of 99 officers and men when she was sunk while in transit from Med, West of Azores