Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.
Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

Grampus (SS-207)

---

Click On Image For Full Size	Size	Image Description		Source
	17k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Grampus's (SS-207) keel laying at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.,14 February 1940.		Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
0820715	1.14k	Christening of the submarine Grampus (SS-207) by Mrs. Charlotte Linne Woodward, wife of Rear Admiral Clark H. Woodward, USN, Chief of Industrial Incentive Division, Navy Department, 23 December 1940.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
0820716	1.38k	Grampus (SS-207) launching party: Admiral Charles Alfred Dunn, Mrs. Charlotte Linne Woodward & Mr. L.Y. Spear, 23 December 1940.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
0820717	1.27k	Grampus (SS-207) sponsor's party: Mrs. Charlotte Linne Woodward & Rear Admiral Clark H. Woodward, 23 December 1940.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
0820718	1.51k	Sponsor for the Grampus (SS-207), Mrs. Charlotte Linne Woodward, 23 December 1940.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
	746k	Civillian dockworkers ride the Grampus (SS-207) as she is being launched on 23 December 1940.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum via Ric Hedman.
	29k	Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Grampus (SS-207) at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 23 December 1940.		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
	21k	Commemorative postal cover marking the launching of the Grampus (SS-207) at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 23 December 1940.		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
	124k	Port quarter view looking forward showing the Gar (SS-206) & Grampus (SS-207) fitting out on 3 January 1941. The Grampus was launched on 23 December 1940.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum via Ric Hedman.
	42k	The Grampus (SS-207), probably off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941.		Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
	596k	Electric Boat Co. photo of Grampus (SS-207), stern at rest off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941.		US National Archives photo # 19LCM bs23817, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
	575k	Electric Boat Co. photo of Grampus (SS-207), bow at rest off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941.		US National Archives photo bs23818, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
	170k	Electric Boat Co. photo of a broadside view of Grampus (SS-207) at rest off Groton, CT., during her trials, 26 March 1941.		US National Archives photo # (19-N-23816),courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
	149k	Starboard quarter view looking forward showing the Gar (SS-206) & Grampus (SS-207) fitting out on 30 March 1941.		Electric Boat Co. photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum via Ric Hedman.
	19k	Commemorative postal cover & photo inset marking the commissioning of the Grampus (SS-207), 23 May 1941.		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
	29k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Grampus's (SS-207) first day in commission, 23 May 1941.		Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
	22k	Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Grampus (SS-207), 23 May 1941.		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
	20k	Commemorative postal cover marking Navy Day, 27 October 1941 and the following submarines commissioned since the previous year: Trout (SS-202), Tuna (SS-203), Mackerel (SS-204), Marlin (SS-205), Gar (SS-206), Grampus (SS-207), Grayback (SS-208), Grayling (SS-209), Grenadier (SS-210) & Gudgeon(SS-211).		Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
0820721	1.14k	The new United States submarine Grampus (SS-207) from the bow end of her 299-foot length while she was cruising on patrol in the Atlantic. Grampus on 1 November 1941 undergoing post-overhaul shakedown trials off Portsmouth, N.H. She had gone to the yards for a brief overhaul after having returned from the Caribbean with Grayback (SS-208), where they conducted modified war patrols. 22 December 1941 saw Grampus on her way to the Pacific to join the war. The object in the right foreground is the top of the Jack Staff. It was a two part unit. The bottom being the fore most stanchion of the life lines and the top half having the bow light and flag hoist folded to the deck when not in use. (Thanks to Dave Johnston for the heads-up on this).		Insert text & photo courtesy of pigboats.com. Image and text provided by Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library. Photo from Detroit Evening Times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 11 November 1941, NIGHT EDITION, Image 30, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
0820714	2.12k	The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Edward Shillingford Hutchinson, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Grampus (SS-207), during the FIRST War Patrol of that vessel in enemy controlled waters during the period 8 February 1942 to 4 April 1942. Despite strong enemy countermeasures and unfavorable sea conditions, Lieutenant Commander Hutchinson took advantage of every opportunity to strike the enemy and in a series of skillfully conducted attacks succeeded in sinking 20,000 tons of enemy Japanese shipping without casualty to personnel of his own command. Lieutenant Commander Hutchinson's conduct throughout was an inspiration to his officers and men, and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Service.		Insert text & photo courtesy of militarytimes.com & findagrave.com
	115k	Off New Britain on 18 February 1943; Lt.Cdr John R. Craig's Grampus (SS-207) torpedoes and lightly damages Aircraft Transport Keiyo Maru at 04-55S, 152-26E.		Text courtesy of combinedfleet.com. Photo courtesy of Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of Japanese Warships".
	99k	Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the Grampus (SS-207).		Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen. Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via loreenamckennitt.com
	83k	John Rich Craig, Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Grampus (SS-207) at the time of her loss.		Photo courtesy of Henry C. Lehtola, Historian, John R. Craig (DD-885) Reunion Association via oneternalpatrol.com.
	638k	Photo of the Japanese Asashio class destroyer Asashio sister ship of the Minegumo, which, along with the destroyer Murasame, sank the Grampus (SS-207).		Courtesy of wikimedia.org
	644k	Photo of the Japanese Shiratsuyu class destroyer Yamakaze, sister ship of the Murasame which, along with the destroyer Minegumo, sank the Grampus (SS-207).		Courtesy of wikimedia.org
	52k	Google Earth satellite photo of the general area in which general area in which Grampus (SS-207) is assumed to have been lost.		View courtesy of Google Earth.
	138k	Moon over Blackett Strait, where the Grampus (SS-207) was lost. The boat was lost on the 28th & last night of a solar month, indicating a nearly black night.		Photo courtesy of picasaweb.google.com/klrhodesgrouper.
	117k	Joyce DaSilva, the wife of Jesse DaSilva of the Tang (SS-306), one of the nine survivors of the boat, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Ballou of Rhode Island was killed in the battle, and just before it he had wrote to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"		Text i.d. courtesy of Marlynn Starring. Photo i.d. courtesy of Chuck Senior, Vice Commander, Los Angeles-Pasadena Base, USSVI. USN photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
	80k	On the night of 17 May 1942, while conducting a surface patrol off Truk during her second war patrol, Grampus (SS-207) was detected by a Japanese patrol vessel and forced to make a quick dive. While passing 30 foot depth, one shell, believed to have bee a 3-inch or 4.7-inch common projectile, struck the starboard bulwark of the cigarette deck and detonated approximately three feet beyond its point of impact about two feet above the cigarette deck over the main engine air induction trunk. While no damage of a serious or military nature was caused, and Grampus experienced no difficulty in subsequently evading the enemy, the action has been included in this report to illustrate the shrapnel effect of medium caliber projectiles and the obvious vulnerability of submarines to such attacks. While other U.S. submarines have been more heavily damaged by gunfire attack, this experience of Grampus was chosen since it is the only such action in which photographs of the damage were available to the Bureau. Seen here is the fragmentation damage, port bulwark, forward end of cigarette deck. The damage report, reference (b), submitted by the Commanding Officer while the ship was undergoing repairs by Otus (Ex-AS20) at Freemantle, W.A., is clear and comprehensive, and is therefore reproduced below in lieu of the usual narrative. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."		Photos & text courtesy of ibiblio.org.

---

View the Grampus (SS-207)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.

---

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

---

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
On Eternal Patrol
PigBoats.COM TM, A Historic Look at Submarines
ComSubForPac US Pacific Fleet - USS Grampus (SS 207) March 5, 1943 - 71 Men Lost

---

Back To The Main Photo Index

Back To the Submarine Index

Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster

This page is created by Gary Priolo and maintained by Michael Mohl All Pages © 1996 - 2024 NavSource History All rights reserved.