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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Greenling (SS-213)

Radio Call Sign: November - Echo - Golf - Victor

Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons


Presidential Unit Citation
Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 12 November 1940, at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.; Launched, 20 September 1941; Commissioned USS Greenling (SS-213), 21 January 1942, at New London, CT.; Decommissioned, 16 October 1946, at New London, CT.; Placed in service as a Naval Reserve training vessel at Portsmouth, NH, and Boston, MA; Placed out of service, 1 March 1960, at Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, MA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 March 1960; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 16 June 1960, to Minichiello Brothers, Chelsea, MA. Greenling received ten battle stars for World War II service and a Presidential Unit Citation.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,424 t.; Length 311' 9"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 6 Officers 54 Enlisted; Operating Depth, 300 ft; Submerged Endurance, 48 hrs at 2 kts; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10 kts; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel electric reduction gear with four General Motors main generator engines, HP 5400, Fuel Capacity, 97,140 gals., four General Electric main motors, HP 2740, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin propellers.
Partial data submitted by Yves Hubert.
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For Full Size		Size Image Description Source
213 92k Greenling's (SS-213) sponsor, Mrs. Rachel Holmes. Mrs. Holmes was the wife of Rear Admiral Ralston S. Holmes, USN, a member of the general board of the Navy Department. Courtesy of ussgreenling.com.
213 3.02k Launching of the Greenling (SS-213) at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 20 September 1941. USN photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
213 20k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Greenling's (SS-213) launching at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 20 September 1941. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
213 20k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Greenling's (SS-213) launching at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 20 September 1941. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
213 20k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Greenling's (SS-213) commissioning at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 21 January 1942. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
213 49k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Greenling's (SS-213) commissioning at the Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 21 January 1942. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
213 231k Greenling (SS-213) profile. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Greenling 196k Greenling (SS-213) departed on her second war patrol 10 July 1942. One of the first submarines to operate in the Truk area, she now joined in the undersea blockade of that important base, in an attempt to cut its supply lines to Japan. After damaging ships 26 and 29 July Greenling sank transport Brasil Maru off Truk, and just after midnight the same night attacked cargo ship Palau Maru, which she torpedoed and sank. Text courtesy of DANFS.
Photo courtesy of Tommy Trampp.
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0821331		 1.10k 13 photo PDF taken by Life Magazine photographer Frank Scherschel showing a Navy band strikeing a tune as the Greenling (SS-213) and its crew as the boat arrives at Pearl Harbor after a patrol (probably her 4th) on 1 November 1942. Photos courtesy of Frank Scherschel via Peter DeForest & Alex Parker.
Greenling 987k The boat has a 3"/50 caliber Mk 21 gun sited aft and two single 20mm guns with the early style Mk 5 solid base mounts (although the guns themselves are not mounted in this photo and are stored below). The boat is underway but the lack of diesel exhaust overboards indicates she has shifted propulsion to the battery and has secured her engines. This would indicate she is inbound to her homeport. I would place the date in late 1942 or early 1943. USN photo # 80-G-394373 from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Sean Hert.
Text courtesy of David Johnston.
Photo I.d. courtesy of Robert Morgan.<
Grant 161k CDR. James Donald Livingston Grant was the commanding officer of the Greenling (SS-213) from February 1943 to May 1944 taking her out on four was patrols. Photo from the Alaska (CB-1) cruise book & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Greenling 86k Patrol boat (former Wakatake - class destroyer) HIJMS No.46 (ex - Yugao) at Kure Arsenal, 1940. Patrol boat No.46 was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine Greenling (SS-213) on 10 November 1944, 75 m SW of Yokosuka (34 degrees 30' N, 138 degrees 34' E). Photo from Nipponkaigun kantei shashin-shu kuchiku-kan p 201. via Robert Hurst.
SS 213 373k Greenling's (SS-213) crew hold the boat's battleflag in a series of group & individual photos in this 18 page PDF, 11/44. Photos courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
213 645k WW II battleflag of the Greenling (SS-213). USN photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 213 942k Greenling's (SS-213) crew at Midway, November 1944. Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
SS 213 591k West of Midway, 12th patrol. Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
SS 213 400k Greenling's (SS-213) last war patrol, her 12th, was carried out in the Nansei Shoto Islands. Departing Pearl Harbor 26 December she found no targets until 24 January 1945, when she intercepted a nine-ship convoy. While making her approach Greenling was attacked by escorts, and after a 4-hour depth charge attack managed to make her escape. The submarine suffered minor damage and steamed to Saipan 27 January 1945 for repairs. There it was decided to send her to the United States, and Greenling steamed via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco.
Capt Gerwick meets Adm. Lockwood & Navy Sec. Forrestal at Pearl Harbor, February 1945. 		Text courtesy of DANFS.
Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
MINSY 306k This is a Safety Department photo showing the temporary staging used on submarines during their overhauls at the yard. The submarines are Greenling (SS-213) and Raton (SS-270). View looking forward.
Text on photos reads:"Good housekeeping and safety gear aboard subs. Walkways provide access to all portions of the boat." Photo taken on 22 February 1945. 		USN photo # MINSY 1371-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
MINSY 319k This is a Safety Department photo showing the temporary staging used on submarines during their overhauls at the yard. The submarines are Greenling (SS-213) and Raton (SS-270). View looking aft.
Text on photos reads:"Good housekeeping and safety gear aboard subs. Walkways provide access to all portions of the boat." Photo taken on 22 February 1945. 		USN photo # MINSY 1375-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tambor 201k Forward plan view of Tambor (SS-198) at Mare Island on 24 February 1945. Shipyard records indicate that Ray (SS-271) and Greenling (SS-213) were berthed immediately aft of Tambor and behind these two boats were Cero (SS-225) and Raton (SS-270). USN photo # 1398-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
213 246k Stern view of Greenling (SS-213) entering the Mare Island channel on 3 May 1945. USN photo # 3267-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
213 225k Broadside view of Greenling (SS-213) off Mare Island on 3 May 1945. She was in overhaul at the yard from 20 February until 7 May 45. USN photo # 3269-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
213 187k Bow on view of Greenling (SS-213) off Mare Island on 3 May 1945. USN photo # 3271-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
213 56k Greenling (SS-213) at Mare Island, CA, 3 May 1945. USN photo # 3270-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
SS 213 1.01k Greenling (SS-213) is seen here at Monterey bay on her way back to the East coast, thence through the Panama Canal. Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
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0821330		 NR Submarine Greenling (SS-213) Here For Observance Of Navy Day
Crewmen of the Greenling line the rail of their famous sub, when she tied up at customhouse wharf. Most of the men have been aboard the craft since she put out to sea in 1942 and became a scourge to Jap shipping. Skipper of the sub (inset, lower right) is Lt. Commander W. H. McClaskey, USN. 		Image and text provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Photo & text by The Wilmington Morning Star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 27 October 1945, Image 2, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
SS 213 400k Greenling (SS-213) went to Portsmouth, N.H. After overhaul at Portsmouth-Naval Shipyard, the submarine decommissioned 16 October 1946 at New London, Conn. Text courtesy of DANFS.
Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
Flounder 62k Postwar photo of the Greenling (SS-213) & Flounder (SS-251). Photo courtesy of F.A. Knittle & Tami Murphree.
SS 213 235k U.S. training sub Greenling (SS-213) sails out of South Boston Navy Yard 29 October 1956.
Note the humidifiers on the mothballed ships. Among the mothballed ships are 2 CVE's: the Suwannee (CVE-27) (behind the Greenling) & the Breton (CVHE-23). 		Photo # 08_06_023256 courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection via Sean Hert & flickr.com.
213 & 235 76k Greenling (SS-213), and Shad (SS-235), at Boston in 1961 awaiting scrapping. © Richard Leonhardt.
Greenling 1.24k Five page Combat Heritage PDF of the Greenling (SS-213) & Eight page PDF History of ships named Greenling. PDF courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
SS 213 2.45k Greenling's (SS-213) golden crew over the years in this 6 page PDF.
This picture was taken in Green Bay in 2009: L to R George Hinda (arranged all reunions), Fred Ensslin, Joe Scannell, Dave Peto & Aldo Beluzzi. 		Photo courtesy of Joseph F. Scannel, RM 1st class of the Greenling (SS-213).
View the Greenling (SS-213)
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
Combat Heritage Greenling (SS 213)
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
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