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USS Grouper (SS-214)
Encyclopedia
USS Grouper (SS/SSK/AGSS-214), a Gato-class
submarine
, was the only ship of the United States Navy
to be named for the grouper
, a salt-water fish noted as a gamefish and for its food values.
Grouper was launched by the Electric Boat
Co., Groton, Conn.
, 27 October 1941 (sponsored by Mrs. Albert F. Church), and commissioned at New London
12 February 1942, Lieutenant Commander C. E. Duke in command.
, Grouper sailed for Pearl Harbor
30 March 1942 to join the Pacific Submarine Force which was to play havoc on Japan
ese shipping. Before departing for her first war patrol, Grouper was assigned to the submarine screen which ringed the area as the American and Japanese fleets clashed in the decisive Battle of Midway
. Patrolling the fringe of the fighting 4 June, Grouper sighted two burning enemy aircraft carrier
s, but could not close for attack because of heavy air cover. On that day she was strafed by fighter planes and driven deep in a series of aircraft and destroyer attacks which saw over 170 depth charges and bombs dropped on the novice submarine.
The next day, as the battle still raged, Grouper crash-dived to avoid heavy bombers. She then put in to Midway for three days for fuel and provisions before sailing on her first war patrol 12 June. She torpedoed and damaged two Japanese marus (civilian ships) in the China Sea
before returning to Pearl Harbor 30 July.
On her second patrol (28 August – 9 October) Grouper sank two freighters, Tone Maru on 21 September and Lisbon Maru
on 1 October. It was later learned that Lisbon Maru was carrying 1800 British
POWs from Hong Kong
; over 800 died in the sinking.
On her third patrol (12 November – 31 December) to Brisbane, Australia, on 17 December she encountered and sank Bandoeng Maru, a passenger-freighter headed for the Solomon Islands
with troop reinforcements.
installations in the Solomons.
Groupers next four patrols netted her no further kills, despite several determined attacks, but the patrols illustrated the varied tasks submarines took on during the war. In addition to her regular patrol duties, which harassed Japanese shipping and tied up valuable warships desperately needed by the enemy, Grouper landed 50 men and 3000 lb (1,360.8 kg) of gear on New Britain
to carry on guerrilla warfare; at the same time she rescued an American aviator who had been stranded there almost 3 months. At the conclusion of her eighth patrol, Grouper headed for the States and overhaul, reaching San Francisco
19 October 1943.
s in September 1944.
and in the Caribbean
followed for Grouper. During this period she chalked up two "firsts": in 1946 she became the first submarine to have a Combat Information Center
installed,
and the following year she effected the first discharge and recovery of men from a submerged and underway submarine.
for conversion to the Navy's first "hunter-killer" submarine. Her classification was changed to SSK-214 on 2 January 1951. With the addition of a snorkel
and extensive sonar
and radar facilities, Grouper emerged from the yard 27 June 1951 to pioneer in research on the deadly submarine-versus-submarine warfare. For the next 8 years, as a unit of Submarine Development Group 2, Grouper worked to develop and test concepts of hunter-killer antisubmarine warfare. In this duty she ranged along the East Coast from Nova Scotia
to Florida as well as participating in Caribbean exercises. In 1953 and 1955 exercises took Grouper across the Atlantic
to Rothesay
, via Iceland
. In the Fall of 1957 she then participated in NATO maneuvers.
, although she retained New London as her home port and engaged in operations there and as far north as Nova Scotia. Her efforts were focused on the study of sound propagation in water. In December 1962 Grouper entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
for overhaul and modification to prepare for further work in this field. Grouper left the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in May 1963 to resume her investigation of waterborne sound.
and twice to Bermuda. At the beginning of 1967 Grouper was at New London preparing to resume gathering knowledge of underwater sound propagation.
As of 1968, Grouper was still adding accomplishments as a floating laboratory to her long and outstanding record during both war and peace.
Grouper received 10 battle stars for World War II
service.
Gato class submarine
The United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, was the only ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for the grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
, a salt-water fish noted as a gamefish and for its food values.
Grouper was launched by the Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
Co., Groton, Conn.
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
, 27 October 1941 (sponsored by Mrs. Albert F. Church), and commissioned at New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
12 February 1942, Lieutenant Commander C. E. Duke in command.
1942
After shakedown in Long Island SoundLong Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
, Grouper sailed for Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
30 March 1942 to join the Pacific Submarine Force which was to play havoc on Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese shipping. Before departing for her first war patrol, Grouper was assigned to the submarine screen which ringed the area as the American and Japanese fleets clashed in the decisive Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
. Patrolling the fringe of the fighting 4 June, Grouper sighted two burning enemy aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s, but could not close for attack because of heavy air cover. On that day she was strafed by fighter planes and driven deep in a series of aircraft and destroyer attacks which saw over 170 depth charges and bombs dropped on the novice submarine.
The next day, as the battle still raged, Grouper crash-dived to avoid heavy bombers. She then put in to Midway for three days for fuel and provisions before sailing on her first war patrol 12 June. She torpedoed and damaged two Japanese marus (civilian ships) in the China Sea
China Sea
The China Seas consist of the seas of the Western Pacific Ocean, around China:* Bohai Sea* Yellow Sea* East China Sea* South China SeaOther uses*China Seas , a 1935 American adventure film...
before returning to Pearl Harbor 30 July.
On her second patrol (28 August – 9 October) Grouper sank two freighters, Tone Maru on 21 September and Lisbon Maru
Lisbon Maru
Lisbon Maru was a Japanese freighter which was used as a troopship and prisoner-of-war transport between China and Japan.When she was sunk by USS Grouper on 1 October 1942, she was carrying, in addition to Japanese Army personnel, almost 2,000 British prisoners of war captured after the fall of...
on 1 October. It was later learned that Lisbon Maru was carrying 1800 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
POWs from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
; over 800 died in the sinking.
On her third patrol (12 November – 31 December) to Brisbane, Australia, on 17 December she encountered and sank Bandoeng Maru, a passenger-freighter headed for the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
with troop reinforcements.
1943
During her fourth war patrol (21 January – 18 March 1943), Grouper rescued an aviator who had been stranded on Rengi Island for several days; she also located several key Japanese radarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
installations in the Solomons.
Groupers next four patrols netted her no further kills, despite several determined attacks, but the patrols illustrated the varied tasks submarines took on during the war. In addition to her regular patrol duties, which harassed Japanese shipping and tied up valuable warships desperately needed by the enemy, Grouper landed 50 men and 3000 lb (1,360.8 kg) of gear on New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
to carry on guerrilla warfare; at the same time she rescued an American aviator who had been stranded there almost 3 months. At the conclusion of her eighth patrol, Grouper headed for the States and overhaul, reaching San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
19 October 1943.
1944
After returning to Pearl Harbor 7 January 1944 for additional repairs, the veteran submarine sailed for her ninth war patrol 22 May. This patrol netted Grouper what was to be her last kill of the war, Kumanoyama Maru, which she sank in a night surface attack 24 June. Grouper’s final three war patrols found a lack of targets; American submarines had done their job on Japanese shipping too well for Grouper’s purposes. She stood lifeguard duty during several air strikes and rescued seven downed aviators during raids on the PalauPalau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
s in September 1944.
1945 – 1949
Returning to Pearl Harbor from her 12th and last war patrol 26 April 1945, Grouper sailed the following day for San Francisco and overhaul. She returned to Pearl Harbor 6 August, but V-J Day cancelled plans for another patrol, and on 9 September Grouper, in company with and , sailed for New London. Four years of local operations and training exercises along the coast to FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
followed for Grouper. During this period she chalked up two "firsts": in 1946 she became the first submarine to have a Combat Information Center
Combat Information Center
The Operations Room is the tactical center of a warship or AWAC aircraft providing processed information for command and control of the near battle space or 'area of operations'...
installed,
and the following year she effected the first discharge and recovery of men from a submerged and underway submarine.
1950 – 1957
These operations ended 5 March 1950 as Grouper entered the Mare Island Naval ShipyardMare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
for conversion to the Navy's first "hunter-killer" submarine. Her classification was changed to SSK-214 on 2 January 1951. With the addition of a snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
and extensive sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
and radar facilities, Grouper emerged from the yard 27 June 1951 to pioneer in research on the deadly submarine-versus-submarine warfare. For the next 8 years, as a unit of Submarine Development Group 2, Grouper worked to develop and test concepts of hunter-killer antisubmarine warfare. In this duty she ranged along the East Coast from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
to Florida as well as participating in Caribbean exercises. In 1953 and 1955 exercises took Grouper across the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to Rothesay
Rothesay, Argyll and Bute
The town of Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th...
, via Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. In the Fall of 1957 she then participated in NATO maneuvers.
1958 – 1962
Grouper was reclassified AG(SS)-214, 17 May 1958, and on 28 November 1959 she entered the Portsmouth Navy Yard for extensive modification. Her forward torpedo room was converted into a floating laboratory, work benches and additional berths for scientists were installed, and various types of sonar gear were added topside. Thus equipped, Grouper departed Portsmouth 23 June 1960 to embark on the fourth phase of her long career, research vessel for the Naval Research and Underwater Sound Laboratories. Her duties as a floating laboratory took her frequently to the Caribbean and BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, although she retained New London as her home port and engaged in operations there and as far north as Nova Scotia. Her efforts were focused on the study of sound propagation in water. In December 1962 Grouper entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
for overhaul and modification to prepare for further work in this field. Grouper left the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in May 1963 to resume her investigation of waterborne sound.
1964 – 1968
In June 1964 Grouper was awarded the coveted Battle Efficiency "E". In November 1965 the submarine again entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for overhaul and equipment modifications to increase her usefulness as a floating underwater sound laboratory. She departed Philadelphia 1 May 1966, reached New London 1 June, and headed for the Caribbean for intensive research. Her studies during 1966 also took her to Narragansett BayNarragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
and twice to Bermuda. At the beginning of 1967 Grouper was at New London preparing to resume gathering knowledge of underwater sound propagation.
As of 1968, Grouper was still adding accomplishments as a floating laboratory to her long and outstanding record during both war and peace.
Grouper received 10 battle stars for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.