The Search for the Grunion Blog

Posted on Friday 24 August 2007

Donovan

Good morning from storm-tossed Kiska Harbor. Sorry for the delay in information, but bad weather and halting satellite communications have been slowing the flow of information. It’s just past 8 AM here now on 8/24, and we’re all still recovering from what’s been an amazing 36 hours.

At 10:20 PM (Aleutian Time; 3:30 AM EDT) on Wednesday August, 22, after a few hours of bathometirc bottom mapping, we winched Oceaneering’s remote-operated vehicle (or ROV) Max Rover over the side, to follow its weighted “clump” of control instrumentation toward the bottom of the Bering Sea near a GPS point for a target labeled “USS Grunion” on our charts. At 11:21 PM, the Max Rover had finally made it to the 1,000 meter depth, and, almost instantly, Joe Caba, the ROV’s pilot and operations specialist–who was working in a control room on the aft deck–radioed to the ship Aquila’s wheelhouse: “We’ve got a target out at 045 degrees and about 80 meters….60 meters now, it’s a big target.”

Then: there was only waiting. For the next 20-some minutes–and despite a second day of uncharacteristically flat seas–Joe and Aquila’s skipper, Kale Garcia, wrestled with conflicting undersea and surface currents, which dragged the Max Rover unpredictably across the gravel and silt of the sea floor on its 1000 meter tether.

At 11:48 PM, after several long minutes of Joe and Kale gaining consensus on how to navigate the tricky waters with 3,000-some feet of cable between them, an image eased into the lights and video monitors of the Max Rover, broadcasting to both the Oceaneering control room and the wheelhouse. It was a hulk of brownish and battered iron, and as the Max Rover came closer, it was clearly the port side of a submarine, which we were approaching amidships. It was 11:48 PM. As we identified the area of the conning tower, it was clear we had found a submarine–perhaps the USS Grunion–in just 27 minutes of searching.

The Max Rover continued its inspection of the vessel toward the aft. The ship was stove in, collapsed, and cracked along a few weld seams as we continued inspection. There was lots of exposed plumbing and piping visible between the eternal skin and the internal pressure hull (which was also visible at some cracks). It was clearly a submarine.

Then, as we came toward the stern of the vessel, we got what was among the most positive-identification characteristics of the search: the prop guards were still there. These, as you know, are armatures of welded pipes that cantilever away horizontally from high on the vessel’s stern, placed there to keep mooring lines from fouling the propellers during rare days when a sub was in port. While other Gato-class subs removed their prop guards after leaving port, approval for such modifications hadn’t come until 1943, by which time the USS Grunion was already listed as missing.

As we came upon the stern, and navigator Richard Graham said: “Those are the prop guards! I knew it,” Max Rover was dragged off the site by tension between the surface and deep currents. It would take us two hours to find the target again.

At 1:59 AM on August 23 (Aleutian time; 6:59 AM EDT), we came upon the submarine again from the stern, and Joe Caba set Max Rover down on the sea bottom just behind the vessel to stabilize the situation before he began his next fly-by. As he did, the port propeller came into focus. Within minutes, we were moving along the port side again, passing limber holes, the prop guards (the Grunion’s were unique designs and fit with the ones we were seeing on the monitors), and up along the imploded sections of hull, covered with marine growths, crabs, and star fish. Before long, we’d seen the vessel’s external mufflers, the conning tower, and–the surprise of surprises–the bow section was missing, snapped away at a weld topped by the forward escape hatch. It was now 2:45 AM (Aleutian; 7:45 AM EDT) and the sub depth at the last edge of existent bow was 1006 meters.

We stayed on the sub, continuing our exam now to the aft: finding an open (and undogged) hatch just aft of the shattered conning tower/sail, as well as the still intact deck gun (you can see the ranging and targeting gearwork), until 3:55 AM, when the search was called complete. We have HD Video (plus four other video camera angles) and digital stills of the entire search. Everyone was exhausted.

Remarkably, as we began to retrieve the ROV, the winds picked up. By the time Max Rover and the clump were safely back aboard, a winds had blow in. It was as if Neptune said: “OK, you’ve gotten what you came for, now I have to get back to work.”

Yesterday, as a gale blew and we hunkered down in Kiska Harbor, we examined the photos against diagrams of other Gato-class subs, hoping to get an idea of precisely what we’d seen the night before and attempting to forensically tease our what had happened to the Grunion; through a 100-percent definitive answer proved elusive. We may have to leave that to professionals.

Today we awoke to heavy winds–30 knots, with 40 knot gusts–but we’re endeavoring to go back to work (still as Kale says, “It’s not too hard to find fresh air around here.”). While the heavy seas over what we can now call the Site of the USS Grunion may keep us off of it for the day (barring a weather miracle), we plan to use Max Rover to go in search of the Japanese destroyer Arare, which was sunk at anchor by the USS Growler in 1942 and is said to sit in two pieces on the sea floor just outside wind-protected Kiska harbor.

I’ll be in touch when we have more news.

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8 Comments for 'Status Report August 24th #3'

Bob Casella

August 24, 2007 | 9:30 pm

In your Grunion album in foto 4 shows what looks like the after battery hatch with the helper railing in place. I find that odd since that hatch was never used underway and the helper railing would have been removed upon getting underway to avoid underwater friction. I hope you find this helpful, I will keep looking at the other fotos and ifI notice anything I’ll let you know. I served on the USS Sealeopard (SS483) in the early 60s, she was a similar class as the Grunion.
Sinerely,
Bob Casella
Ed Walson

August 24, 2007 | 10:07 pm

The open hatch is the access hatch to the After Battery Compartment. Located starb’d side at after end of the sail. I notice several things here. (1) The portable hand rail is ‘rigged’ in its sockets. These hand rails (also equiped at the After Engine Room, After Torpedoroom and Forward Torpedoroom deck hatches were normally taken down and stowed away while at sea, certainly for war patrols. (2) The handle used to ’spin’ the hatch wheel open and closed is in its operating (open) position. These are a spring loaded mechanism with a sort of cam at the base to retain or capture the handle when it is rigged (closed) inside the hatch wheel when not being used. If personnel were going quickly up and down thru this hatch the handle would have been rigged ‘in’. (3) The most visable hatch ‘dog’ (lower right) appears to be in the fully ‘open’ position. It looks like this hatch was opened on purpose. At the bottom of this hatch access tube (inside the mess hall) there should have been a second flanged-bolted hatch cover with a smaller oblong access hatch secured with a ’stong back’. These were installed from inside the boat during war patrols as protection against the main hatch being damaged or carried away from depth charges, ramming etc. I do not know if this hatch was typically used for personnel transfer during Surface Battle Stations during WWII or not. Certainly during later years all such traffic came and went from only the Forward Torpedo Room or Conning Tower Hatch.
Howard A. Sanders, Jr.

August 24, 2007 | 10:34 pm

This is so exiciting I can hardly wait for some more pictures. Is there anyway to get pictures of the inside of the sub?
John Hart

August 24, 2007 | 11:17 pm

Mr Donovan great to have you aboard, I look forward to your article. How far aft from the break did the hull implode? This would indicate the extent of flooding. If the hatch between FWD Torpedo and officers’ head were secured the implosion area would be very close. If flooded through to control room there would be more intact behind the break. Of course impact with sea bed could have done some damage too. Wish I could have been there with you.
Dan L. Gearhart

August 24, 2007 | 11:24 pm

I picked up my news paper today and saw the article about the The USS Grunion being found. I felt a surge of excitement when I realized what ship it was. My grandmas brother, Lawrence Dale Deaton was on that sub. I have visited the Punch Bowl in Hawaii and found his name listed there but have never had much info as to what had happened. I would like to provide my grandma, Lenore (Deaton) Gearhart with as much information as possiable and have her included in any activitys that might arise from this discovery. Is there any contacts that anyone can give me that might be helpful? I know I will be watching this web site from now on to follow what is taking place.
Jack Wood

August 25, 2007 | 12:50 am

Another exciting and stunning report!

I’ve traveled the Aleutian Islands since 1989 in the development of its geothermal energy and know of the extreme nature and power of weather conditions in and around the Aleutian Islands. Indeed, Neptune did smile upon your efforts.

I, too, look forward to seeing the visual record of this culminating Event.
Erin Hayes

August 25, 2007 | 6:29 am

I too have been following your search for the Grunion since it was first posted on one of the news websites last year. I’m the daughter and granddaughter of prior Navy men, and wife to a prior Marine. I’m so happy that you were able to find your father’s submarine and the fallen ships of the Japanese. I’m sure the souls of the men aboard the Grunion and other ships are at peace knowing someone finally came looking for them and found them.

Highest Regards,
Erin Hayes
Kjell Donheim

August 26, 2007 | 12:23 pm

Greetings and congratulation to the Team from Norway!
The years, long hours and hard work paid of! Job well done!
Now the Grunion should be brought to the surface and back to the US.
I challange the ConocoPhillips Company to sponsor the cost!
I wish you all a nice safe day!
Sincerely
Kjell Donheim

Posted on Friday 24 August 2007

8 Comments for 'Status Report August 24th #3'

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