The other day I read that 52 US submarines and over 3,500 of their crew were lost during WWII. I then found out that those who perished are considered “still on patrol” or “on eternal patrol.”
Pearl Harbor Submarine Memorial
According to the Pearl Harbor Memorial web page, upwards of 55% of Japan’s merchant marine losses were due to American submarines. This came with a high price: The U.S. Navy’s submarine service suffered the highest casualty percentage of all the American armed forces, losing one in five submariners. Some 16,000 submariners served during the war, of whom 375 officers and 3,131 enlisted men were killed.
Here’s a complete list of lost US submarines that are “still on patrol.”
A man by the name of Tim Taylor founded the Lost 52 Project in order to research and locate the US Navy subs that were lost during WWII. From their web site:
“The Lost 52 Project is a long term exploration and underwater archeological project that is documenting and preserving the story of the Lost 52 WWII Submarines, leaving a foundation of knowledge for future generations. Building on our current discoveries, ocean exploration and underwater robotics expertise, our team is organizing, executing and managing expeditions with the goal to discover and survey as many of the lost 52 US WWII submarines as possible.”
Here’s a video of Lost 52 Project’s discovery of the USS Grayback:
Watch family members who lost relatives on the Grayback react to the submarine’s discovery:
Great job Tim Taylor and the Lost 52 Project! You bring great comfort to those whose loved ones are “on eternal patrol.”
DCG
Great Post DCG I saw this article back when he first found the USS Grayback, he is on a mission from what I read about him.
The sea has swallowed up so many from the war. God rest Their Souls.
Tears . . . .
Tears.
We would not have lost as many submarines in WW II as we did if the Navy Bureau of Weapons had accepted, or even investigated, that our torpedo warheads were defective. Submarine sonar operators would hear a torpedo hit a target and not explode. The problem was that the design of the exploder mechanism allowed the metal casing to collapse against the firing pin holding it in place and thereby preventing detonation. Admiral Lockwood finally had a torpedo fired into a rock cliff, recovered the defective detonator and had it hand delivered to the desk of the Chief of the Bureau of Weapons. A slight change in design rendered our torpedoes nearly 100% effective when they hit the target.