- USS Grenadier (SS-210)
USS "Grenadier" (SS-210), a "Tambor"-class
submarine , was the first ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for the grenadier fish, relatives ofcod that are very common in bathyal and abyssal habitats.Her keel was laid down by
Portsmouth Navy Yard inKittery, Maine , in April 1940. She was launched on29 November 1940 sponsored by Mrs. Walter S. Anderson, wife of theDirector of Naval Intelligence and commissioned on1 May 1941 with Lieutenant Commander Allen R. Joyce in command.On
20 June "Grenadier" participated in the search for "O-9" (SS-70), which had failed to surface after a deep test dive, and was present two days later as memorial exercises were conducted over the spot where "O-9" and her crew lay. After shakedown in theCaribbean Sea , "Grenadier" returned to Portsmouth on5 November for refit. Less than three weeks after the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor , she sailed for the Pacific to join the submarine fleet."Grenadier"’s first war patrol from
4 February to23 March 1942 took her near the Japanese home islands, off the coast ofHonshū , and brought her several targets but no sinkings. On12 April "Grenadier" departedPearl Harbor for her second war patrol, along theShanghai -Yokohama and Nagasaki-Formosa shipping lanes. On8 May she torpedoed and sank one of her most important kills of the war, transport "Taiyō Maru". Post-war examination of Japanese records showed "Taiyō Maru" to be more than just the ordinary transport; she was en route to theEast Indies with a group of Japanese scientists, economists, and industrial experts bent on expediting the exploitation of the conquered territory. Their loss was a notable blow to the enemy war effort.On
25 May "Grenadier" was diverted from her patrol area toMidway Island , where she formed part of the submarine patrol line as the American fleet in a bloody but brilliant battle handed the Imperial Navy its first defeat in some three hundred years. "Grenadier"’s third war patrol was in theTruk area, heavily patrolled by enemy ships and planes. Although she sighted some 28 Japanese ships, enemy planes effectively hampered her, and she returned to her new base, Fremantle,Australia , empty-handed.The
Malay Barrier was the site of "Grenadier"’s fourth war patrol from13 October to10 December . After laying a minefield offHaiphong ,Indochina , the submarine made an unsuccessful attack on a large freighter. During the severe depth charging which followed, sea water seeped into the batteries; "Grenadier"’s crew suffered headaches and nausea fromchlorine gas poisoning for the remainder of the patrol. To increase the misery, on20 November "Grenadier" spotted a "Ryūjō" class aircraft carrier, escorted by acruiser and adestroyer , heading through theStrait of Makassar too distant to shoot. "Grenadier" surfaced to radio theaircraft carrier 's location and course to Fremantle in hope that anothersubmarine could capitalize on it."Grenadier"’s fifth war patrol, under the command of
Willis Lent , between1 January and20 February 1943 , brought her considerably better fortune than earlier patrols. A 75-ton schooner fell victim to her deck guns10 January , and two days later "Grenadier" sighted a small tanker with a barge in tow. Judging the target not worth a torpedo, she slipped silently into the column behind the two Japanese ships. At dusk she battle surfaced. With binoculars lashed to the deck guns as sights, she raked tanker and barge sinking them immediately. The remainder of her patrol, along theBorneo coast through shallow and treacherous waters, was hampered by fathometer failures. She conducted an aggressive attack on two cargo ships22 January but did not sink them.The battle-tired
submarine departedAustralia on20 March on her last war patrol and headed for theStrait of Malacca , gateway between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Patrolling along the Malay and Thai coasts, "Grenadier" claimed a small freighter off the island ofPhuket on6 April . She remained in the area and late in the night of20 April sighted two merchantmen and closed in for the attack. Running on the surface at dawn21 April , "Grenadier" spotted, and was simultaneously spotted by, a Japanese plane. As the sub crash dived, her skipper, Commander John A. Fitzgerald commented "we ought to be safe now, as we are between 120 and convert|130|ft|m|0." Just then, bombs rocked "Grenadier" and heeled her over 15 to 20 degrees. Power and lights failed completely and the fatally wounded ship settled to the bottom at convert|267|ft|m|0. She tried to make repairs while a fierce fire blazed in the maneuvering room.After 13 hours of sweating it out on the bottom "Grenadier" managed to surface after dark to clear the boat of smoke and inspect damage. The damage to her propulsion system was irreparable. Attempting to bring his ship close to shore so that the crew could scuttle her and escape into the jungle, Commander Fitzgerald even tried to jury-rig a sail. But the long night's work proved futile. As dawn broke,
22 April , "Grenadier"’s weary crew sighted two Japanese ships heading for them. As the skipper "didn't think it advisable to make a stationary dive in 280 feet of water without power," the crew began burning confidential documents prior to abandoning ship. A Japanese plane attacked the stricken submarine; but "Grenadier", though dead in the water and to all appearances helpless, blazed away with machine guns. She hit the plane on its second pass. As the damaged plane veered off, its torpedo landed about convert|200|yd|m|-2 from the boat and exploded.Opening all vents, "Grenadier"’s crew abandoned ship and watched her sink to her final resting place. A Japanese merchantman picked up eight officers and 68 enlisted men and took them to
Penang ,Malay States , where they were questioned, beaten, and starved before being sent to other prison camps. They were then separated and transferred from camp to camp along theMalay Peninsula and finally toJapan . Throughout the war they suffered brutal, inhuman treatment, and their refusal to reveal military information both frustrated and angered their captors. First word that any had survived "Grenadier" reachedAustralia on27 November 1943 . Despite the brutal and sadistic treatment, all but four of "Grenadier"’s crew survived their two years in Japanese hands."Grenadier" received four battle stars for World War II service.
References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g8/grenadier-i.htm
External links
* [http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-grenadier-210.htm On Eternal Patrol: USS "Grenadier"]
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