Hull Number: SS-210
Last Captain: LCDR John Fitzgerald
Date Lost: 22 April 1943
Location: Lam Voalan Strait, in the Indian Ocean northwest of Penang
Fatalities: Fatalities: 4. All 76 members of the crew were rescued when the boat was scuttled. However, four men died in captivity.
Cause: Scuttled
Construction
Grenadier was a Tambor class submarine completed by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine in May of 1941.
Loss Narrative
On her sixth patrol, on the night of 20 April 1943, Grenadier ventured west from an unproductive patrol area looking for targets. She found two Japanese ships but they turned away. Assuming they would return to their base course, the boat plotted a course on the surface to intercept. Shortly before the planned dive time, she was spotted by a Japanese aircraft and dove. As she passed 120 feet, she experienced a violent explosion. All power and lighting were lost and she settled on the bottom at 270 feet. There were many leaks in the after part of the boat. A fire in the cubicle left the ship without propulsion and the propellor shafts had been knocked out of alignment.
The crew worked hard in repressive heat to repair the boat. Bucket brigades kept the main motors dry. Grenadier surfaced at dusk and continued working. They were finally able to turn one shaft, but only at slow speed. They had even rigged up a sail in the hope of moving the boat closer to land. However, a cargo ship and escort appeared and closed on Grenadier. An attacking aircraft was driven away by gunfire, but not before it had dropped another bomb close by.
At this point the captain decided to scuttle the boat to save the crew. The merchant vessel picked up the entire crew and carried them to captivity. Sources disagree but it appears that four of the crew died in POW camps.
The crew worked hard in repressive heat to repair the boat. Bucket brigades kept the main motors dry. Grenadier surfaced at dusk and continued working. They were finally able to turn one shaft, but only at slow speed. They had even rigged up a sail in the hope of moving the boat closer to land. However, a cargo ship and escort appeared and closed on Grenadier. An attacking aircraft was driven away by gunfire, but not before it had dropped another bomb close by.
At this point the captain decided to scuttle the boat to save the crew. The merchant vessel picked up the entire crew and carried them to captivity. Sources disagree but it appears that four of the crew died in POW camps.
Prior History
Grenadier had participated in the search for the USS O-9 when that boat went missing. Grenadier returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for an overhaul on 5 November 1941. Less than three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed for Hawaii and her war patrols.
Grenadier had sunk one freighter on her first patrol which began on 4 February 1942. On her second patrol, beginning on 12 April, she fired four torpedoes at a large ship, the 14,457-ton Taiyo Maru. All four were reported to have hit the target, although only two exploded. That was still enough to destroy the ship. After the war, it was learned that this maru was carrying a research crew, so the Japanese lost more than a large freighter. Grenadier also may have mistakenly sunk the Russian merchant ship Angarstroi on 1 May. Later during this second patrol, Grenadier was part of the ring of submarines looking for the Japanese fleet that we knew was coming to attack Midway and to draw our carriers into battle.
The concerns voiced by the captain, LCDR Willis Lent, regarding the torpedoes were not well received. Some sources claim that it may have cost him his command but questions about the sinking the Russian ship may also have been a factor. Grenadier sailed for her third patrol with a new skipper. On this patrol she claimed a 15,000-ton tanker but this was not confirmed. Her fourth patrol was to lay mines, which she completed. She also fired torpedoes at a freighter without any hits although she did receive a depth charging for her efforts. On her fifth patrol, she sank a sampan and two small cargo vessels, all too small for credit. Grenadier also hit a freighter with two torpedoes, but this ship was assessed as only being damaged.
Grenadier was lost on her sixth war patrol and JANAC credited her with one sinking for 14,457 tons.
Grenadier had sunk one freighter on her first patrol which began on 4 February 1942. On her second patrol, beginning on 12 April, she fired four torpedoes at a large ship, the 14,457-ton Taiyo Maru. All four were reported to have hit the target, although only two exploded. That was still enough to destroy the ship. After the war, it was learned that this maru was carrying a research crew, so the Japanese lost more than a large freighter. Grenadier also may have mistakenly sunk the Russian merchant ship Angarstroi on 1 May. Later during this second patrol, Grenadier was part of the ring of submarines looking for the Japanese fleet that we knew was coming to attack Midway and to draw our carriers into battle.
The concerns voiced by the captain, LCDR Willis Lent, regarding the torpedoes were not well received. Some sources claim that it may have cost him his command but questions about the sinking the Russian ship may also have been a factor. Grenadier sailed for her third patrol with a new skipper. On this patrol she claimed a 15,000-ton tanker but this was not confirmed. Her fourth patrol was to lay mines, which she completed. She also fired torpedoes at a freighter without any hits although she did receive a depth charging for her efforts. On her fifth patrol, she sank a sampan and two small cargo vessels, all too small for credit. Grenadier also hit a freighter with two torpedoes, but this ship was assessed as only being damaged.
Grenadier was lost on her sixth war patrol and JANAC credited her with one sinking for 14,457 tons.
Submarine Photo
Captain Photo
LCDR John Fitzgerald