NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski
Grenadier (SS-210)
Gar Class Submarine: Laid down, 2 April 1940, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Launched, 29 November 1940; Commissioned, USS Grenadier (SS-210), 1 May 1941; Lost to enemy action in the Lem Voalan Strait, northeast Indian Ocean, hit by Japanese bombs 21 April 1943, scuttled by her crew 22 April 1943; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown); Grenadier received four battle stars for World War II service. Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,475 t., Submerged: 2,370 t.; Length 307' 2"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 13' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 5 Officers, 54 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 dual purpose deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, four General Motors Co., diesel engines, 5.400 hp, Fuel Capacity, 96,365 gals., four General Electric Co., electric motors, 2,740 hp, Battery cells 252, twin propellers.
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 | 196k | Bow view of the Grenadier (SS-210) from the overhead crane at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 10 July 1940. | US National Archives photo # 19LCM 353-40, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. | |
 | 469k | Stern view of the Grenadier (SS-210) from after catwalk, 10 July 1940. | US National Archives photo # 19LCM 354-40, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. | |
 | 458k | Bow view looking aft of the Grenadier (SS-210) from overhead large crane, 1 October 1940. The Marlin (SS-205) is under construction on the ways to the left of the Grenadier. | Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston. US National Archives photo # 19LCM 553-40, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. |
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 | 441k | Stern view of the Grenadier (SS-210) looking forward westend catwalk from overhead large crane, 1 October 1940. | US National Archives photo # 19LCM 554-40, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. | |
 | 301k | Navy Yard Portsmouth, N.H. Launching Party at launching of U.S. Submarine Grenadier (SS-210), Mrs. Walter S. Anderson, Sponsor, 29 November 1940. | USN photo courtesy of todaysdocument.tumblr.com | |
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1.23k | Ship's Sponsor, Mrs. Walter S. Anderson, with other members of the launching party, during Grenadier's (SS-210) christening ceremonies at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 29 November 1940. Those present include, in the front row, left to right: Captain Henry F.D. Davis, Navy Yard Industrial Manager; Rear Admiral Walter A. Anderson, Director of Naval Intelligence; Rear Admiral John D. Wainwright, Navy Yard Commandant; Mrs. Walter S. Anderson; Miss. Patricia Crosley of New York City; Captain John J. Brown; and Lieutenant H.K. Leslie, Aide to RAdm. Wainwright. Second row, left to right: Mrs. John D. Wainwright; and Mrs. G.B. Crosley. Third row, left to right: Commander A.I. McKee, Navy Yard Planning Officer; Mrs. Henry F.D. Davis; Mrs. John J. Brown; and Lieutenant Hale. Mr. Joseph F. Flanagan is in the top center. |
Photo NH 91225 courtesy of history.navy.mil | |
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259k | Snow lays in the background as the Grenadier (SS-210) slides down the launching ways at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, at 11:30 AM on 29 November 1940. | Launching video courtesy of Grant Peck of the Associated Press. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. |
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75k | Launching of the Grenadier (SS-210), at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 29 November 1940. | USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org. & Photo # 08_06_023289, courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection via Sean Hert & flickr.com. | |
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259k | A tug gives the Grenadier (SS-210) a push & shove towards berth # 1 following her launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 29 November 1940. | USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. | |
 | 205k | Bow view of the Grenadier (SS-210) during her fitting out, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 27 January 1941. | US National Archives photo # 19LCM 34-41, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. | |
 | 196k | Stern view of the Grenadier (SS-210) during her fitting out, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 27 January 1941. | US National Archives photo # 19LCM 35-41, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. | |
 | 265k | Trout (SS-202) ouboard & Grenadier (SS-210) during her fitting out, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH, 5 April 1941. | US National Archives photo # 19LCM 170-41, from NARA, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert. | |
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24k | Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Grenadier (SS-210), 1 May 1941. | Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory). | |
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24k | Commemorative postal cover marking the commissioning of the Grenadier (SS-210), 1 May 1941. | Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory). | |
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75k | Commemorative postal cover marking Grenadier (SS-210) ready for the deep, 16 May 1941. | Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory). | |
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162k | Postal cover marking the deep dive of the Grenadier (SS-210) on 8 July 1941. | Courtesy of Darryl L. Baker. | |
 | 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). | |
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165k | Grenadier (SS-210), off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 27 December 1941. | Official USN photo # NH 99403, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Photo enlargement courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. | |
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379k | Grenadier's (SS-210) first war patrol from 4 February to 23 March 1942 took her near the Japanese home islands, off the coast of Honshu, and brought her several targets but no sinkings. On 12 April Grenadier departed Pearl Harbor for her second war patrol, along the Shanghai-Yokohama and Nagasaki-Formosa shipping lanes. On 8 May she torpedoed and sank one of her most important kills of the war, transport Taiyo Maru. Post-war examination of Japanese records showed Taiyo Maru to be more than just the ordinary transport; she was en route to the East Indies with a group of Japanese scientists, economists, and industrial experts bent on expediting the exploitation of the conquered territory. Their loss was a notable blow to the enemy war effort. | Text courtesy of DANFS. Photo courtesy of Tommy Trampp. |
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75k | Cap Finisterre (ID # 4051) with her topsides crowded with troops returning to the U.S. from Europe, 1919.
In 1920, Cap Finisterre was transferred to Japan as part of the German war reparations owed to that nation. Renamed Taiyo Maru, she was operated for more than two decades by a variety of shipping lines. On 8 May 1942, while serving as a transport for the Japanese Army, Taiyo Maru was torpedoed and sunk by Grenadier (SS-210). |
Text & photo # NH 84664 courtesy of U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976 via Tommy Trampp. |
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1.78 | 14 page PDF war history of the Grenadier (SS-210). | PDF courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com. | |
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990k | POW diary by the Grenadier's (SS-210) CO, Lt Commander J.A. Fitzgerald. | PDF courtesy of Douglas Hill. Photo via history.navy.mil. |
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58k | Some of the survivors of the crew of the Grenadier (SS-210), 15 September 1945 as Prisoners of War at Fukuoka Camp No. 3 located northeast of Yawata between Tabata and Kokura: Back Row L-R: Dean B. Shoemaker, Ben H. Fulton, Randolph J. Garrison, B. Pierce, John H. Gunderson, Bernard W. Witzke Center Row L-R: William H. Keefe, Charles (n) Roskell, Hentry W. Rutkowski, Rex R. Evans, Lyle L. Sawatzke, Charles H. Whitlock, Charles E. Johnson Front Row L-R: Joseph A. Minton, John K. Simpson, Riley H. Keysor, Virgil A. Quillette, Thomas J. Trigg. | Courtesy of submarinesailor.com. | |
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127k | One of the survivors of the crew of the Grenadier (SS-210), Lyle Sawatzke. | Courtesy of Indiana Bloomfield Monitor, / Dick Buschelman. | |
 0821052 | 1.40k | Grenadier (SS-210) & Grenadier (SS-525) Plaque. | Photo courtesy of Authors Collection. | |
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108k | Google Earth satellite photo of the general area in which Grenadier (SS-210) is assumed to have been lost. | View courtesy of Google Earth. | |
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924k | Interesting collection of offficers gathered for the re-commissioning of Lionfish (SS-298) & Scabbardfish (SS-397) at Mare Island on 31 January 1951. Officers are from left to right. Capt. Willis A. Lent – Commander, Mare Island Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet. He wears two Navy Cross Stars (1) Commanding Officer, Grenadier (SS 210) & (2) Commanding Officer, Triton (SS-201) during WWII. LCDR Richard M. Wright – Commanding Officer of Scabbardfish (SS-397). He wears the Silver Star for actions as Asst. Approach Officer of Spadefish (SS 411) WWII and Navy & Marine Corps Medal for his action aboard Cochino (SS 345) in 1948 sinking. RADM Thomas R. Cooley – Deputy Commander, Pacific Reserve Fleet. He wears the Legion of Merit for his action as Commanding Officer, Washington (BB- 56) during WWII. LCDR Arthur G. McIntyre – Commanding Officer, Lionfish. He wears the Prisoner of War Medal for 22 months as a Japanese prisoner in WWII after sinking of Grenadier. He also wears a Purple Heart. |
Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum courtesy of Darryl L. Baker. | |
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365k | This plaque was unveiled 20 March 1995 by His Excellency Major General P.M. Jeffery OA MC, Governor of Western Australia to commemorate the sacrifices made by Allied submarines that operated out of Fremantle, Western Australia during WW II. | Photo courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory). | |
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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. |
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955k | Article and photo of the CO and three guys off Grenadier (SS-210) sunk in WWII. It was taken at the decommissioning and transfer of Grenadier (SS-525) to Venezuela. The article appeared in the Key West Outpost (the base paper) on 23 May 1973. As an interesting side note, the paper got the hull number wrong, in the first line of the article. Grenadier (SS-210) was the one lost in WWII. | Photo & article courtesy of Mike Keating. | |
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44k | Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the Grenadier (SS-210). | Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen. Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via loreenamckennitt.com | |
 0821024 | 220k | An image on a sonar screen shows a silhouette shape of a submarine lying on the ocean floor somewhere in the Strait of Malacca on 21 October 2019. The Grenadier (SS-210) lies in approximately 83 meters of water & identified with a probability of 95% as of this writing in mid September 2020. | Photo courtesy of Jean Luc Rivoire, submitted by Steve Burton from the article written by Grant Peck of the Associated Press. Video courtesy of facebook via www.nytimes.com courtesy of Steve Mohl. |
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 0821025 | 541k | A rheostat - an electric resistor used to control current - with the inscriptions Ohmite and Chicago is recovered by a group of divers from a submarine wreck somewhere in the Strait of Malacca on 6 November 2019. Divers have found what they believe is the wreck of a U.S. Navy submarine lost 77 years ago in Southeast Asia, providing a coda to a stirring but little-known tale from World War II. | Photo courtesy of Jean Luc Rivoire via Grant Peck of the Associated Press. | |
 0821026 | 337k | In this image taken from video, the top hatch of a conning tower can be seen from a submarine wreck somewhere in the Strait of Malacca on 4 March 2020. | Photo courtesy of Jean Luc Rivoire via Grant Peck of the Associated Press. | |
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131k | U.S. Sub Lost Washington, D.C. - A communique by the Navy Department, 14 September announced the loss of the U.S. submarine Grenadier (SS-210) (seen here at her launching), one of the Navy's newer underwater ships. The twelfth American submarine to be lost in this war, the Grenadier is presumed to have gone down in the Pacific. It carried a crew of approximately 65. 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 / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./" |
Official USN photo from ACME, New York Bureau, dated 9-15-43, courtesy of Bill Gonyo. | |
View the Grenadier (SS-210)
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
World War II Submarine Warfare - rare footage
PigBoats.COM TM, A Historic Look at Submarines
ComSubForPac US Pacific Fleet - 22 April 1943, 4 Men Died as Japanese POW's
Section IV Grenadier (SS-210) Loss in Action, Off Malaya, 22 April 1943
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