In 1944, the U.S. nuclear submarine codenamed "Gray Whale" mysteriously disappeared and has been searching for it for many years. It is gratifying that after many efforts, on November 10, 2019, the wreckage of the "Gray Whale" submarine was finally found near the East China Sea.
The submarine sank at a depth of 435 meters and its hull was badly damaged, but a nameplate bearing the name of the submarine has been found. It is assumed that the submarine sank as a result of an air attack by anti-submarine aircraft, and 80 crew members unfortunately lost their lives.
Despite the fact that decades have passed, the story of the "Gray Whale" is still heartwarming.
When the relevant agencies were preparing to salvage the wreckage of the "Gray Whale," the United States unexpectedly announced a decision to ban salvage, and this decision attracted widespread attention from the international community.
So why did the U.S. ban the salvage of the Gray Whale in the East China Sea? What happened during this period? In 1936, on the eve of World War II, the world's major powers realized the proximity of war, so they increased their investment in the war.
Although the United States was not prepared to join the war on the European continent at that time, but adopted an isolationist policy, it had already planned ahead and launched a naval deployment to protect itself in a possible war.
The U.S. Navy planned to develop a practical submarine, although the submarine was not a favored submarine at the time, because of its short stealth time, slow speed, and weak firepower, most ocean wars were still dominated by large ships and giant guns.
However, the value of nuclear submarines in war cannot be ignored. The United States, the Soviet Union, and Germany have all begun to secretly develop a new generation of submarines.
Developed by the U.S. Navy, the new submarine uses cutting-edge technology to significantly increase its underwater endurance. At the same time, the submarine is equipped with a diesel engine, which allows it to reach the level of conventional surface ships.
This submarine already has the basic characteristics of a modern submarine, the first of which is the Gray Whale. The Gray Whale has a total length of 94 meters and a surface displacement of 1,499 tons and an underwater displacement of 2,410 tons.
It is capable of enduring 11,000 nautical miles at 10 knots, or 48 hours at 2 knots. The submarine is equipped with a powerful ** system, including 10 533-mm torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1 76-mm deck gun, 1 40-mm Bofors and 1 20-mm Oerlikon machine gun.
In 1940, the submarine Gray Whale was born and entered service with the Atlantic Fleet. The submarine had a maximum endurance of more than 20,000 kilometers and a maximum depth of 76 meters, making it one of the best submarines at that time.
The mission of the Gray Whale submarine is to protect the Caribbean Sea, the backyard of the United States, and to defend against possible threats in Europe. However, on December 7, 1941, the Pacific War broke out as the sky over Pearl Harbor burst into flames.
The war changed the fate of the submarine Gray Whale, which had to readjust its mission to fight to defend the Pacific coast of the United States.
Now, the Gray Whale has a new mission, which is to stop Japanese freighters, dealing a devastating blow to Japan's maritime logistics system. During World War II, U.S. submarines played a key role, constantly interfering with Japanese transport ships, and even being able to sneak into the rear of the Japanese fleet without knowing it, directly cutting off the Japanese army's supplies**, thus ensuring that the various resources that Japan had obtained in Southeast Asia could not be transported back to the mainland.
This point cast a heavy weight on the scales of the Pacific War. In addition to cutting off the supply of the Japanese army, US submarines often stayed in the sea to carry out important tasks such as attacking Japan's lone aircraft carrier.
In January 1942, the Gray Whale embarked on a patrol to the Pacific, with the first stop on the patrol being Saipan and the vicinity. At this moment, a Japanese first-class submarine quietly arrived, which was built by Germany after the end of World War I, and Japan obtained partial access rights.
Although the Gray Whale was slightly superior in terms of technology, the submarine industry was still in its infancy at that time, and the gap was not very large, so the two sides were tied. However, the Gray Whale's mission was mainly to patrol and it was inconvenient to engage in a head-on confrontation with the enemy, so it could only retreat temporarily.
Instead of engaging in a fierce underwater battle directly with the Gray Whale, the Japanese submarine maintained a safe distance and fired torpedoes in an attempt to sink it. However, the Gray Whale was much faster than the submarine had anticipated, and the torpedo attack missed.
After four days and four nights of unremitting pursuit, the Gray Whale successfully escaped the enemy's pursuit by virtue of its slight speed advantage. This incident taught the crew of the Gray Whale a profound lesson.
Although the mission did not achieve substantial results and even narrowly escaped a torpedo attack, it was this experience that allowed them to accumulate valuable experience in underwater warfare.
These experiences will be a powerful tool for their future counterattacks, preparing them well.
On March 17, 1941, the Gray Whale ushered in a critical moment of head-on confrontation between the United States and Japan during a stealth cruise mission. During this mission, the Gray Whale was given the right to attack without restrictions.
During the cruise, the Gray Whale quickly locked onto the target - a three-thousand-ton Japanese cargo ship. After a fierce battle, the Gray Whale managed to hit a torpedo and scored a beautiful first victory.
Just ten minutes later, the Japanese cargo ship sank in the Pacific Ocean.
In this rescue operation, the Gray Whale submarine showed outstanding strength, and at the same time, it also opened a debut for the US submarine. Our rescue operation not only succeeded in rescuing the trapped crew members, but also instilled strong morale in the Allies.
In the harsh war environment, the Gray Whale's outstanding performance contributed to it. Looking back on history, on January 5, 1943, an American B-26 fighter plane unfortunately crashed, and the six crew members on board were unfortunately stranded on Munda Island.
After receiving the rescue order, the Gray Whale immediately set off for the island and successfully completed the rescue mission.
In general, submarines are not suitable for such rescue missions, after all, this requires them to surface and send people to land. But in wartime, the ascent of a submarine is equivalent to sending a target to the enemy.
However, the Gray Whale happens to be the closest American boat to Munda Island, and the only vessel capable of making a rescue. If they give up, the six soldiers will lose hope of life.
Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, the Gray Whale arrived near Munda Island, and two of its crew members quietly rowed a small boat to land. They found six survivors on the island, three of whom were wounded.
If it is taken any longer, the wound may become inflamed or even life-threatening. At the risk of being discovered by the enemy, they hid in the jungle for a short rest, and then gave the signal for the submarine to surface.
Eventually, they managed to escape. This outstanding rescue operation earned submarine member Edward C. Stephen the Navy Cross and the Army Silver Star Medal.
The Gray Whale and its submarine partners continue to be active in Japanese waters, and they continue to achieve amazing results in the face of both the Japanese Navy and the local environment. Countless freighters were destroyed by them, and they themselves were unscathed, and even sank a Japanese army**, which brought heavy damage to Japan's maritime attack front and provided strong support for the Pacific theater, the Chinese theater, and the Southeast Asian theater.
According to U.S. post-war statistics, the USS Gray Whale sank a total of 14 ships in the war, ranking 24th among all U.S. ships, and ranked 20th with a total tonnage of 63,835 tons.
They received a total of eight battle stars and can be called war heroes.
The achievements of the Gray Whale are incredible, especially in the early days of the war, and the speed of updating and iteration of the American ** boat is extremely fast. Despite the fact that in the late stages of the war, the Gray Whale lagged behind its predecessors in terms of performance and combat effectiveness compared to its predecessors, it was still rated as a mid-class ship, which was a very remarkable achievement.
Every time it set out, the Gray Whale was able to successfully complete the mission and return safely. In the U.S. ** team, many soldiers believe that the Gray Whale has unusual "luck", and some people even touch the surface of the submarine when passing by, hoping to get lucky and return safely.
On January 28, 1944, after repairs and supplies at Pearl Harbor, the Gray Whale continued its voyage eastward, aiming directly at the East China Sea. Since then, the Gray Whale has embarked on its tenth and most successful combat cruise.
After half a month of sailing, the Gray Whale finally entered the engagement zone, and the crew nervously entered a state of alert. During this cruise, the Gray Whale managed to sink two freighters on February 19.
On 24 February, they successfully attacked the Hi-40 convoy. On the morning of February 25, the Gray Whale continued its efforts and successfully sank the Japanese oil tanker Nanbang Maru and severely damaged the oil tanker Asama Maru.
On the way back to Midway to recuperate, the submarine Gray Whale had run out of ammunition and received an order from the command, so they turned the ship around and prepared to return home. However, on its way back from the East China Sea, the Gray Whale sank the Ceylon Maru on February 27 using its last two torpedoes.
It was because of this attack that Japanese seaplanes spotted the Gray Whale in the East China Sea and immediately launched an attack. The submarine immediately sank, and then the Japanese summoned anti-submarine destroyers and repeatedly launched depth charges on it, causing bubbles and oil to emerge from the sea.
The Gray Whale is located about a twelve-day voyage from Midway and is expected to arrive on March 7.
The Gray Whale disappeared into the sea, and the officers and men of Midway were ready for everything and waited for its arrival. However, neither on the second day nor on the third day, the Gray Whale did not appear.
They could only silently salute the distant horizon and salute the end of the Gray Whale's mission. On March 30, the U.S. Pacific Submarine Command officially declared the Gray Whale a missing ship, and no one knows where it is.
After the end of World War II, the U.S. military began a search for missing ships, and a total of 55 ships went missing during the war. In 1950, after calculations, the location of most of the ships was determined.
However, the whereabouts of the Gray Whale are still unknown. According to war records, the Gray Whale was at 128°45 east longitude', 25°47 N'The location is missing. Despite several U.S. searches in 1946, the wreckage of the Gray Whale has not been found.
In recognition of the heroic performance of the Gray Whale and its crew, the United States** awarded them all the Purple Hearts, and the commander of the Gray Whale, John Anderson Moore, was posthumously awarded a third Navy Cross.
The names of these valiant crew members are inscribed in the Martyrs' Cemetery as a sign of respect.
From performance to combat record, the Gray Whale is the most cost-effective submarine in the history of the U.S. Navy, and its performance exceeds the limitations of the design itself, and its kill record far exceeds that of similar submarines, becoming an immortal legend in the history of the world's navies.
Seventy-five years on, the search for the Gray Whale has not stopped, but each search has ended in failure, no matter what advanced equipment is used. It seems to have disappeared forever into the depths of the ocean, becoming an unsolved mystery.
It wasn't until November 10, 2019 that a private explorer named Taylor accidentally discovered the long-lost Gray Whale under ** and serious treatment. The discovery was made possible by the efforts and persistence of a Japanese engineer, Iwasaki.
Iwasaki, a Japanese national, knows the history of World War II inside and out. He was particularly keen on information on sea boats and had great curiosity about the war situation. By chance, he learned the story of the Gray Whale and was fascinated by the event.
However, to his confusion, it was recorded that the location should have clear coordinates, but it was never found. Iwasaki was convinced of the rigor of the army's records, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was because of the pilot's negligence that he mistakenly recorded the wrong coordinates.
Iwasaki did not give up easily, and after careful consideration, he decided to consult the archives of that year himself. The results of the review confirmed his conjecture.
While rummaging through the historical archives, Iwasaki found a document documenting the location of the sinking of the Gray Whale. Surprisingly, the numbers in this document are extremely sloppy, with one of the 5s looking more like 6.
After many searches, Iwasaki found that the US military was also searching according to the coordinates of this 6. This means that as long as you return to the correct coordinates, it is possible that the Gray Whale will be found.
Iwasaki told Taylor about his discovery, and he approved it. So, together they organized an expedition and conducted a search on June 5, 2019, following the coordinates provided by Iwasaki.
At a depth of 435 meters in the target sea area, there are 52 sunken U.S. military ** and submarines, of which 47 have salvage value. After a series of sonar detection, long-range photography and other technologies, the missing Gray Whale was finally found.
When it was first discovered, the Gray Whale was split in two, which was exactly the same as the Japanese record. The aft part of the control tower of the wreckage was severely damaged, consistent with the report description of being hit by a bomb and the ship being severely damaged.
After the discovery of the Gray Whale, the relevant departments immediately planned to salvage it, but the United States ** firmly opposed it.
The Gray Whale submarine is not a high-tech secret**, but represents a piece of history and a memory. The submarine, built more than seventy years ago, has long been behind the times in its technology.
The U.S. Navy believes that the Gray Whale symbolizes the heroic soldiers who died fighting the cause of the fascist state, and while we cannot give them material rewards, we can protect their peace of mind after death.
In the Navy's regulations, a ship damaged on the seabed is like an eternal resting place for its crew, and its tranquility should be respected and protected. Therefore, the Gray Whale is still sleeping at the bottom of the East China Sea, quietly guarding that period of history and memory.