80 Men Lost

February 26, 1944

USS Grayback (SS 208)
Stern view of the Grayback (SS-208) off San Francisco (Hunter’s Point)
on August 26, 1943

Gar Class Submarine
Keel laid: April 3, 1940, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT
Launched: January 31, 1941
Commissioned: June 30, 1941
Displacement: 1,475 tons surfaced; 2,370 tons submerged
Length: 307′ 2″
Beam: 27′ 3″
Depth limit: 250′
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

Grayback’s tenth patrol, her most successful in terms of tonnage sunk, was also to be her last. She sailed from Pearl Harbor on January 28, 1944, for the East China Sea. On February 24th Grayback radioed that she had sunk two cargo ships on February 19th and had damaged two others. On February 25th she transmitted her second and final report. That morning she had sunk tanker Toshin Maru and severely damaged another. With only two torpedoes remaining, she was ordered home from patrol. Due to reach Midway on March 7th, Grayback did not arrive. On March 30th ComSubPac listed her as missing and presumed lost with all hands.

From captured Japanese records the submarine’s last few days can be pieced together. Heading home through the East China Sea, on February 27th Grayback used her last two torpedoes to sink the freighter Ceylon Maru. 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,” but 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. Grayback had ended her last patrol, one which cost the enemy some 21,594 tons of shipping.

Grayback ranked 20th among all submarines in total tonnage sunk with 63,835 tons and 24th in number of ships sunk with 14. The submarine and crew had received two Navy Unit Commendations for their seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth war patrols.

Grayback received eight battle stars for World War II service.

Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet