The Story of the USS Grayback: After Decades of No Answers, New Information Sheds Light on What Happened
Around late March of 1944, the U.S.S Grayback, also known as S.S.-208, disappeared with all hands on deck. 80 American sailors lost. Families of the crew never got to say goodbye or understand what exactly had happened to them. No one knew, until recently.
Read her story and see the
latest images from her underwater grave.
Lost WWII Submarines
Because the terrible loss of
the submarine on all its crew wasn’t forgotten, a special project specifically
focused on locating the 52 U.S. submarines that were never seen again was
launched. But that's a different story. Read on to see what they found onboard
this discovered sub and find out what really happened to this submarine.
A Bump in the Road
The “Lost 52 Project” has been
graced with the funds and an expert team of researchers who are dedicated to
finding an explanation for these submarines’ disappearances. It’s said that the
last place the submarine was seen was the coast of Japan. As you'll discover, a
small error made it impossible to find the submarine after it went missing.
Grayback’s History
After encountering a challenge
with their underwater vehicle, the team had to bring the craft all the way back
up to the surface in order to analyze what could be causing the fault in the
machine. After looking at the data, the scientist found two sets of anomalies,
which result in Taylor sending back another probe. But beforehand, he had done
a good amount of research on Grayback, in order to understand the history of
the submarine and what had led it to its devastating end.
Read on to see the submarine's
many successes it had during the war and what was its eventual downfall.
A Message Had Been Sent
In January of 1944, Grayback
left Pearl Harbor on a combat patrol mission. That wasn’t the first time that
Grayback had gone on a mission though, it was the submarine’s 10th mission at
that point. Sadly enough, it was about to be its last one too. Curiously, a
couple of days before it sank, the crew members managed to send a message to
the base just before it disappeared under the aggressive waves that
characterized that specific day. The sub had managed to sink two Japanese
ships, Takei Maru and Toshin Maru.
In Need of More Supplies
After all of that action,
Grayback had to be resupplied pretty soon. After carrying so many attacks, the
submarine had only two torpedoes left and was therefore set to sail into the
North Pacific in order to get some more supplies. You'll see just how worried
the crew was when they finally realized that something was awfully wrong.
Declaring Grayback Lost at Sea
Since their colleagues on the
ground had no idea that something had happened to the U.S submarine, the crew
was waiting for Grayback at the dock of Midway Atoll on March 7, 1944. As
time passed, the team began to feel a little bit worried. There was simply no
sign of Grayback for three weeks. As much as it pained them, on March 30, the
U.S authorities had to eventually declare the ship lost at sea, with its 80
crew members. Take a look at the history of these submarines and decide for
yourself if you think the disappearance could have been avoided...
The History of U.S Submarines
It is history that allows all
pieces of the puzzle to make sense once they’re put together. In April of 1940,
shipbuilders started the process of building Grayback, in the renowned Electric
Boat Company located in Connecticut. It was there that many U.S submarines were
built, with an expert team that always ensured the submarines’ safety and
durability. But unfortunately, they couldn’t control what would happen at sea.
The submarine was built with very capable hands, but was it enough?
A Reputable Company
Electric Boat Company built
about 85 submarines prior to the U.S.S Holland, some for the British Royal
Navy. Despite the fact that these ships were built by the best professionals,
take a look at what happened to many of them...
Some Never Returned
Electric Boat went on to create
and build 74 submarines, amongst which Grayback was built. Unfortunately, seven
of these were completely destroyed during the war, and Grayback was amongst
them. When officials realized the gravity of the problem, they ordered that all
other submarines be returned to the ground. Many of them made it, but others
simply got caught up in the violence of war, and never returned to their bases
and the men never returned to their families.
An Equipped Submarine
When the Electric Boat company
concluded building Grayback, the submersible was big, it reached about 300 feet
from stem to stern, and weighed about 2,410 tons.The submarine had reached more
than 12,500 miles during its time serving the army.
A Particular Purpose
Builders also made sure to
equip the ship with items of the best quality. Grayback had roughly ten 21-inch
torpedo tubes, one 50-caliber machine gun. Needless to say that the ship was
built for a very specific purpose, to attack enemies and protect itself as much
as it could.
Ready to Start the Mission
After going through several
tests and a thorough analysis of its capabilities, Grayback was released 10
months after it had started being built. In 1941, the submarine had become the
property of the U.S Navy and was about to be caught up in the peak of WWII, just
after Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. Once it was commissioned,
Grayback was taken under the control of Lieutenant Willard A. Saunders and sent
to Long Island Sound as its starting point.
The First Task
The crew was given some time to
get acquainted with the machine so that they could make the best use of the
vessel during the war. After ensuring that Grayback was ready to take upon the
task, it was sent on patrol to the Caribbean and the Chesapeake Bay at the end
of 1941. But once the U.S officially joined WWII, Grayback was sent back for
maintenance on the Maine coast so that it would be ready for the harsh battles
that were about to come.
Three Weeks at Sea
Just a couple of months after,
in February, the ship was sent for its first official wartime patrol. Even
though crew members were decidedly trained and ready for it, they couldn’t help
but wonder if that would be their last time serving their country. The ship
headed towards the pacific, cruising along the Island of Guam, which had been
invaded by the Japanese in 1941. In this particular mission, the submarine
spent three weeks at sea in a strange mission.
Two Torpedos Unleashed
During the three weeks,
Grayback spent countless days chasing and being chased by an enemy submarine
led by the Japanese. In fact, two torpedoes were unleashed towards Grayback,
the U.S sub failed to return fire at that time. Since it was their first-ever
war mission, it was taking the crew some time to retaliate. But most
importantly at that point was that Grayback had been able to remain safe, and
while it didn’t succeed in sinking any ship right away, it was certainly
learning tons from the mission.
Its First Attack
Eventually, Grayback managed to
succeed in attacking a cargo vessel of 3,291, the first Japanese ship they
sank. They were then ready to go on their second patrol. Surprisingly, not much
happened during this mission, and so the ship docked at the Western Australian
port of Fremantle. For most years in which Grayback was active in the
war, this would be their home dock. Grayback’s following two missions took
place in the sea located in the South of China, and differently from the ship’s
second mission, this time they had a lot of action.
Bringing Down Another Ship
They were attacked from all
sides while at sea, including being hampered by several patrol boats from their
enemies and really harsh weather conditions. Sometimes, the sea was so
aggressive that it was almost impossible to sail. But still, Grayback succeeded
in bringing down one of the most threatening enemy submarines, in addition to a
number of merchant ships that seemed to threaten their security. Then, the crew
was sent back to dock in order to prepare for their fifth mission, to take
place in Australia in December 1942.
Heading Back to Sea
Ironically, Grayback headed
back to sea on Christmas Day of 1942. As soon as it submerged, it caught four
landing barges. After using its deck guns to sink all of them, it continued the
mission. Just four days later, torpedoes were fired once again by enemy subs,
but by now Grayback was extremely experienced. The crew skillfully avoided all
of them, with the mission staying uneventful for several weeks. But of course,
that didn’t last too long, they were in the middle of WWII after all.
A Rescue Operation
In January 1943, Grayback
managed to attack a known enemy, the Navy Vessel I-18 led by the Japanese. But
the attack wasn’t as successful as they had hoped for, with the Japanese vessel
finding a way to escape the attack. But that didn’t discourage the U.S sub,
since they succeeded in sinking the Japanese vessel a month later, taking down
its 102 crewmen with it. Something else pretty monumental happened during
Grayback's fifth mission. A huge rescue operation took place, putting everyone
involved at risk.
Six Fellow Americans Saved
It turns out that six fellow
Americans who had previously been crew members of a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber
were stranded in the Solomon Islands after the bomber crashed. Grayback crew
members were sent to rescue their fellow combatants, but the mission wasn’t an
easy one. Two men waited until dark to head to the Islands, finding all six
airmen and rescuing them. They then left right away so they could avoid
catching the attention of any of the Japanese enemy planes. The ship was
severely damaged after being attacked by an enemy destroyer, as they
strategically charged at the U.S ship. During that time though, Grayback
continued to torpedo several enemy ships, mostly led by the Japanese.
A Hit That Sent Them Back to Shore
Unfortunately, the hit that
Grayback suffered was strong this time. It caused several damages, including a
hatch on the ship’s hull, which in turn resulted in a leakage that was too
dangerous to let the ship continue sailing.
Consequently, Grayback received
orders to return to the Australian port in order to get fixed. Once it was
ready to go on its sixth mission, crew members gathered once again and were
ready to keep fighting. But this mission was a bit less successful than others
though.
A Successful Mission
They didn’t manage to attack
any ships this time but managed to stay afloat and alive for its next mission.
This one started in the port of Brisbane in April of 1943. This time, Grayback
was on a roll.
The ship managed to take down a
Japanese merchant ship named Yodogawa Maru after it sent two torpedos towards
the ship. Just a couple of days later, Grayback attacked another enemy, sinking
the England Maru, a cargo ship that posed a threat towards the U.S ship.
Returning to the Dock
That wasn’t the end of it. Two
more cargo ships were sunk, closing Grayback’s seventh mission. They then
headed back to California for some maintenance and a well-deserved pause. Ready
for the next mission in the Pacific, the crew returned to sea in September 1943.
This time, a new commander had
been appointed to lead the submarine. Two weeks after arriving at Pearl Harbor,
the ship was set to sail towards their eighth and almost last mission, next to
U.S.S Shad.
A Strong Strategy
Once the two subs arrived at
Midway Atoll, another U.S submarine joined them, the U.S.S Cero. The “wolfpack”
was commanded by some of the best vessels in the US Army, tripling their
strength towards the enemy.
This method had proved to be
successful after German U-boats also featured among their enemies. But in the
US in specific, this was the first time this strategy was being used, but crew
leaders were confident and hopeful that it would be a successful one.
Sinking 38,000 Tons of Japanese Ships
With time, the tactic once
again proved to be very successful, but this time for the US. In fact,
together, the three ships managed to take down a whooping 38,000 tons of ships
led by the Japanese.
But after using every single
one of their torpedos in the attacks, the submarine trio had to return to shore
in order to refill and perform some maintenance. They arrived back at Midway
Atoll in November of 1943.
More Awards
Due to the success of this
mission, Moore also got to win a Navy Cross, becoming the second of Grayback’s
ship captains to win the honor. Finally, it was time for the submarine’s ninth
patrol. This time, the sub-headed towards the sea in East China. In just five
days, the ship had fired all of its torpedos, which had recently been refilled.
During the attacks, Grayback
sank four Japanese ships and had to return right away to Pearl Harbor.
Commander Moore won a Navy Cross yet again for the successful and daring
mission.
Eight Battle Stars
In its 10th mission, the ship
managed to sink a whooping 21,594 tons of shipping belonging to the Japanese.
That had been the third mission headed by Moore, proving once again that he had
taken the ship to its full-lengths.
The Commander was awarded a
third Navy Cross posthumously. And the ship itself also got to receive a number
of awards. Accordingly, Grayback received eight battle stars for its service
during WWII. All who were aboard were awarded for their courageous missions at
sea throughout the years.
Their Last Mission
Unfortunately, though, that was
the ship's and crew’s last mission. And it would take decades to find out what
exactly went down, and how or why Grayback was never seen again. In initial
investigations, the U.S Navy suspected that the submarine had sunk due to the
strong waves that were characteristic of Southeast Okinawa, a Japanese Island.
But as the research advanced,
it was found that this assumption was indeed wrong. Apparently, a crucial piece
of data has been interpreted wrongly, while containing a huge error.
An Error in the Data
The war records that were being
analyzed by the U.S Navy had actually been kept by the Japanese for years. One
specific digit had been wrongly included in the map reference after it had been
transcribed wrongly.
You see, it was crucial that
the document had been translated correctly in order for the information to be
accurate, but that didn’t happen. Curiously, U.S Navy officials ended up
finding out that Grayback wasn’t actually located where it was believed to be
in the beginning. Even worse, it was very far from the initial assumption.
Reopening the Case
Only sometime in 2018, when
another adventurer decided to re-open the case a re-examine the data, things
started to become clearer. Tim Taylor is actually the founder of the Lost 52
Project. The project is dedicated to the sole research and finding of the
remains of the 52 US submarines that disappeared during WWII.
The private enterprise has been
working hard to understand what could have resulted in all 52 subs vanishing
without leaving any trace behind them. Taylor was determined to put this case
to bed once and for all.
Reaching out to Another Researcher
In order to make proper sense
of the data, Taylor reached out to a fellow researcher from Japan, named Yutaka
Iwasaki. He decided it would be a good idea to ask Yutaka if he could go
through the files collected by the Sasebo base, which had been crucial during
WWII.
The Japanese Imperial Navy had
collected those documents during the war, making Taylor believe that this could
be the first step towards uncovering the mystery surrounding the WWII American
ships.
One Digit Was Wrong
Some of these records included
a couple of radio updates that happened on Okinawa Island. This had been one of
the sites for an important Japanese naval air facility. Once Iwasaki got to
work, it didn’t take him too long to spot the error.
The single-digit error could be
easily overseen within the transcription, requiring a set of skills that
Iwasaki certainly had. The transcription came from a radio report sent by Naha
into Sasebo in February 1944. This was an extremely important date.
Attacked by a Torpedo Bomber
The 27th February of 1944 was
just a couple of days after the US ship, Grayback, sent through their last report
to the US Navy base. The report described an attack that happened that day,
carried out by a Nakajima B5N bomber.
The bomber had apparently come
from an aircraft carrier and must have been ready to ambush the US forces. The
torpedo bomber had simply dropped a huge 500-pound bomb on a submarine that
could be seen on the surface, hitting it with no warning.
All Details Were Shared
The report even detailed what
exactly happened after the bomb fell on the submarine. The vessel exploded
right away and sank into the water with no trace of any survivors. As
devastating as that was, it seemed that that could have been the end of
Grayback.
Iwasaki shared some more
details on his research with the New York Times in November 2019.
According to the Japanese researcher, the radio record had details of the
longitude and the latitude of the gruesome attack.
Reaching Their Remains
Apparently, the coordinates
completely contradict the location where the US Navy believed that Grayback had
been last. The location was over 100 miles away from the assumed location,
since 1949.
With this information, which
was hopefully more accurate, Taylor hoped that his team could finally reach the
remains of Grayback. It didn’t take long until he went on a mission, determined
to find the lost submarine. Amazingly, the Lost 52 Project actually managed to
find the wreck of the lost submarine.
The Hull Was Finally Found
To the team’s surprise, the
hull was basically intact after all of those decades had passed. But instead of
simply feeling like a huge achievement, the researchers and divers that made up
the team had very mixed feelings.
Even though finally uncovering
where and how Grayback had been taken down, they were also about to find 80 men
who had given their lives to this cause. Finally, the families of these men
could be at peace with the knowledge they were about to get, even though it was
devastating.
Relatives Were Affected
But there was one relative who
was greatly affected by the news. Gloria Hurney was the niece of Raymond Parks,
one of the men who had served aboard Grayback. Parks served as a first-class
electrician’s mate.
She spent years trying to
uncover the truth of what had happened to her uncle and had nearly given up. In
fact, when she also shared her experience with the New York Times,
she claimed that a saying she once read in a book while looking for answers
claimed something interesting.
Finding Comfort and Peace
The book suggested that only
God knew where these ships were located. But now, she and other families also
got to know. Hurney hoped that like it did to her, this information would allow
the tribulation's families to heal and find comfort in knowing about their
loved ones' last moments.
Although the results didn’t
necessarily make sense to the horrifying last moments the tribulation had gone
through, it gave an explanation that was so awaited by hundreds of people
across the country.
They Were Grateful But Heartbroken
In fact, Hurney also hoped that
the event would bring together these families, so they could share stories of
their loved ones and their bravery. Cathy Taylor, another one of the crew’s
relatives, also shared her experience with the new-found knowledge. She was the
family of John Patrick King, who also worked as an electrician’s mate in the
third class.
He was very special to her, as
he had been her chosen godfather and her uncle. She was grateful for the
knowledge and missed her uncle and godfather dearly. She had also hoped to keep
his memory alive somehow, especially now.
As you have witnessed, the
Grayback was a war machine, made up of 80 brave men, that fought hard and
achieved great success. The crew fought until the very end, and despite it
being a sad end, at least the families can take comfort in knowing what really
happened to their loved ones all those years ago, and they can be proud. The story of
Grayback is certainly one of the most fascinating and heartbreaking from WWII
we’ve heard. But unfortunately, this is not the only story that involves the
wreckage caused by the war. Take, for example, the story of Minerve...
Minerve, the French Submarine
An Entire Crew Was Gone
Minerve was a French submarine
that also went missing all of a sudden, only twenty years after Grayback did.
But just like Taylor, French experts were willing to go to great lengths to
uncover what had happened to the submarine and its crew. Minerve’s wreckage was
finally found 51 years after a thorough investigation was done. A team of
divers and researchers got together in July of 2019, and dove about 9,000 feet
within the Mediterranean, with the hope of finding the remains of Minerve’s
wreck.
The submarine was populated
with a crew of 52 people when it vanished. Researchers dove with special drones
that should make the process a little bit easier. One of the good things about
having decades passing was the advance of technology and research methods.
It Was the Lost French Submarine
After some time underwater, it
seemed like one of the drones had found something. It came across a piece of
wreckage with the letters “MIN” engraved in it. Researchers looked into it and
with a sense of relief, they confirmed that that was indeed a lost French
submarine.
It took almost an entire
half-century to make the discovery. Before it disappeared, in 1968, Minerve was
a part of team training in naval exercises in preparation for the work they
would do in partnership with military planes.
Not Great Weather Conditions
In January of that same year,
Minerve was finally on the way back to its homeport of Toulon. The country’s
main Naval base can be found in Toulon, which is located in the Southern part
of France’s coast.
But on the way, Minerve’s crew
encountered an obstacle, the weather. Right at the beginning of the trip, the
submarine’s captain realized that the weather conditions were going to make it
really difficult to continue their journey safely towards their mission. At
that point, Minerve could be found just below the Gulf of Lion’s surface.
The Last Time They Made Contact
Minerve’s submarine operator
decided to contact the aircraft flying in tandem with the submarine. They
informed their colleagues that the poor weather conditions were forcing them to
make the hard decision of canceling a part of the mission.
Sadly, that was the last time
anyone ever heard from Minerve and its crew. At the same moment that the
message was sent, a tremor was recorded in the same location as the submarine.
Right away, a search was launched with the hopes of locating Minerve, or its
wreck.
Everyone Wanted Answers
The large-scale search included
planes, helicopters, and ships, desperately attempting to locate the ship and
its crew. Unfortunately, after days of a consistent and high resource search,
the search teams found nothing.
They didn’t give up though.
Between 1968 and 1970, search crews still conducted several searches, until the
authorities finally decided to call it quits. It was, however, very bizarre
that they weren’t able to find one sign of the ship, how could it have simply
disappeared? At that point, there were no answers as to why, where, and how
Minerve had sunk.
Daphné-Class Submarines
Curiously, Minerve was amongst
the other 10 Daphné-class vessels that were created and built especially for
the French Navy, between the years of 1958 and 1970. A lot of work was put in
by the French authorities and local manufacturers, due to the high and complex
importance of these submarines.
Interestingly, the French also
built Daphné-class submarines with the intent of selling them to other
countries, including South Africa, Spain, and Pakistan. However, after Minerve
sank in 1968, France manufacturers stopped building this specific sub.
Another Vessel Disappears
Even though the craft stopped
being made in 1970, a delivery of four more vessels still took place in 1975.
But the bad luck struck again when something catastrophic happened to Eurydice,
another one of the Daphné submarines manufactured by the French.
Apparently, something similar
to what had happened with Minerve happened with Eurydice. The sub was sailing
in okay-weather conditions on March 4, when the ship suddenly disappeared about
35 miles away from Toulon. According to the seismograph, an underwater tremor
could also be recognized.
There Was a Location
This time though, search teams
managed to pinpoint where Eurydice was located before it vanished. After a
search, they did indeed find some pieces of the submarine’s wreckage floating
in addition to detecting some oil on the sea that would have been from the sub.
Grievously, all 57 crew members had most probably sunk with the sub.
But differently from Minerve’s
situation, authorities were able to locate and understand what happened to
Eurydice fairly quickly. The remains of the submarine were found in April 1970,
by an American ship known as USNS Mizar.
Found Seven Weeks After
This was seven weeks after the
vessel was declared missing. And while the ship’s end was terrible, people
would at least have the opportunity to find peace with what had happened to
their loved ones.
Reports showed that several
wrecks of the ship were found all over, between roughly 2,000 to 3,600 feet.
But when it came to Minerve, still nothing. The sub was classified as a
second-class craft, which was also found in the category of the larger
Narval-class submarines.
Questions Were Raised
Narval-class submarines were
known to have the ability to travel across oceans, while the Aréthuse-class
vessels, which actually provided the basis for the Daphné-class design, were
smaller in size and less prone to traveling throughout oceans and open seas. In
fact, the Daphné-class design was mostly used for anti-submarine craft.
But as long as both of these
models were used for the purposes that had been intended, there shouldn’t be
any accidents. But this didn’t stop Minerve from disappearing and starting to
raise serious questions about how equipped these subs really were.
The Craft’s Composition
According to its manufacturers,
Daphné-class vessels were also initially thought to be low-maintenance,
stealthy, and really mobile machinery. Only two engines fueled with diesel, and
one electric motor were supposed to be enough to power Minerve and its crew
members.
The craft was pretty impressive
and big, as it measured about 1960 feet from its bow to the stern while
measuring 22 feet across its beam. The craft also had 883 tons in displacement
and a range of approximately 5,200 miles. But there was more.
The French Chaniters Dubigeon
The vessel’s maximum speed
reached about 18 mph while submerged underwater and 15.5 mph above water.
Additionally, Minerve’s torpedo tubes were eight in the front and four at the
back. The ship was built by the french Chaniters Dubigeon, with whom the Naval
authorities worked throughout the entire process.
The company had decades of
experience in the field and was supposedly an expert. The ship’s construction
started in May of 1957, and all of the construction processes happened in the
Chantiers Dubigeon’s private shipyard.
Taking Their Time
The company was based in the
Ile de Nantes, which was an Island found in the city of Nantes, right on the
River Loire. The ship took roughly three years of work until it was complete
and ready to sail in May 1961.
The company had certainly taken
their time but were focused on building a secure, spacious, and proper vessel
for the national navy. Most importantly, the French company attempted their
best to construct something that wouldn’t need much work in the future, with
the exception of the regular maintenance procedures.
The Official Launch
Once it was delivered to the
French Navy, the submarine was due to embark on a shakedown cruise.
The term was coined by marines
to describe two main things: an opportunity to pinpoint any specific snags or
problems that the sub’s equipment or general operation might have; and some
time for crew members to learn the details they need on the craft they’re about
to spend a whole lot of time in. The military cruise was officially launched to
the sea at the end of 1962.
Its First Destination
The first destination the
vessel would go to would be Northern Ireland. Once it got there, Minerve
traveled to Norway’s coast, to a place called Bergen, and afterward, it
continued sailing towards Gothenburg, the port city of Sweden.
After completing the entire
trip with no major bumps, Minerve had orders to return to the French Atlantic
coast and port of Cherbourg. Until that point, crew members were happy with the
results of the vessel and seemed to feel secure in it for the journey that
awaited them.
Returning Home
Then, it was time for Minerve
to return to its homeport on the Mediterranean, the port of Toulon. The craft
actually didn’t go anywhere too far again. Their missions stayed within the
Mediterranean sea, and as they would later find out, it was only 30 miles away
from Toulon that the craft vanished.
Beforehand, the sub was set to
sail exclusively in the sea and areas close to their port. The day it vanished,
in 1968, Minerve was commanded by Lieutenant André Fauve.
Lieutenant André Fauve
Lieutenant André Fauve had an
impressive career and resume, having mostly worked as a naval officer in the
naval French army. Lieutenant Fauve had learned from the best, his father, who
had also dedicated his career to the French Navy.
In fact, Lieutenant Fauve
Senior had once been the commander of the battleship Strasbourg. In a
complicated turn of events, Lieutenant Fauve Senior had to make the tough
decision of deliberately sinking their vessel and the battle fleet in its
entirety.
Following in His Father’s Footsteps
The decision was made in 1942
after that had become their only option instead of being caught and destroyed
by the Germans. With his father’s example being a huge inspiration for Fauve,
the then captain had gone a long way until he became the leader of Minerve.
Fauve was born in 1935 in
Ploërmel, a city located in northwest France. He had gone to school and
vehemently studied and learned everything he could about the field, always with
the goal of following in his father’s footsteps.
Doing What He Loved
And only after experimenting
with tens of vessels, Fauve was deemed ready to lead a Navy submarine. At the
age of 32, Fauve became the commander of Minerve but had no idea that his aim
in life would have also become his curse.
Fauve was about to command the
last mission of his life. With him, the other 51 men would also lose their
lives, leaving a hole in 52 families across France. Hopefully, Fauve’s family
can at least find peace in the fact that he passed away doing what he loved the
most.
Sharing Stories About Him
After his disappearance, many
of Fauvre’s colleagues shared some of their views and experiences with the dedicated
commander in the field. Fauve had a determination that wasn’t seen regularly -
the commander had spent over 7,000 hours diving and learning every technique he
needed for his job.
He focused the learning process
mainly on Daphné-class submarines so that his experience in the mission would
be easier. Not once did Fauve fail in the process, almost never encountering
any obstacles. So if both Fauve and the vessel weren’t unreliable, then what
caused the accident?
The Bad Weather
Due to the facts mentioned
above, the mystery behind Minerve’s disappearance continued to confuse French
officials and the crew members' families. The only viable explanation as to why
Minerve had disappeared was the bad weather conditions that characterized the
last radio message sent by Fauve.
In that particular location
where Minerve was last seen sailing, the winds were extremely strong, blowing
at about 70mph. Fauve had called in to rightfully cancel part of the mission so
that the submarine could return to safety until the weather improved.
Contacting the Aircraft
Once Fauve contacted the
aircraft with the radio message, the plane’s pilot made several attempts to
keep the communication going. It took him a bit to understand that something
could actually be happening.
They tried at least for another
15 minutes to reach out to Fauve and his crew. Unfortunately, nothing came out
of it, it was too late. While stormy and bad weather can interfere with the
radio’s signal, the aircraft wanted to believe that it was simply the signal
and not something more severe that was impeding their communication.
They Became Anxious
But because of the bad signal,
the submarine would also not be able to send out an alarm, communicating to
their peers that they were in danger. The French navy became increasingly
anxious about the situation, especially after the submarine failed to return to
its home port on January 28.
It was very rare that a captain
wouldn’t follow the agreement of returning on the right date and time. The
submarine was expected at 1 am that day, and although there were suspicions
that something had happened, everyone was still there to wait for the vessel.
Getting Some Extra Help
By 2.15 am, Minerve was still
not there, and that was when the alarm went off and a search mission had
officially been launched. And as we mentioned earlier, it was an enormous
search with tons of equipment.
In fact, the Navy dispatched
every single resource they had to find commander Fauve and the rest of the
crew. They even included a mini-submarine led by a renowned explorer named
Jacques Cousteau. Cousteau was an experienced undersea explorer, called in
extreme situations such as this one.
An Outdated Technology
After the entire search team’s
best efforts were exhausted with no results, they had to call it quits, at
least for a while. It’s important to note though that back in the 1960s, the
technology available for diving and searching underwater wasn’t as developed as
it is today.
It also wasn’t very helpful
that Minerve was sailing in between a pretty large area, making the perimeter
harder to figure out. The submarine was said to be sailing between 3,300 feet
to about 6,600 feet deep.
The American Ship USNS Mizar
Between the years of 1968 and
1969, the searches continued. During those two years, searchers and explorers
continued to offer their time and expertise to find absolutely any information
related to the craft, but nothing was found.
The French authorities even
worked with the American ship USNS Mizar, which coincidently, would find
Eurydice years later. But back then, they were also unsuccessful in their
search for Minerve. Even in spite of the Archimède mini-submarine and many
skills, there were no finds once again.
It Wasn’t the Only One
After these last attempts, the
Navy had no other choice but to stop the searches. For 50 years, everyone ended
up believing that they would never know what actually happened to Minerve. In
addition to Minerve’s disappearance though, there were so many other events
that happened to fellow submarines in that same year.
For example, just two days
before Minerve sank, an Israeli Navy submarine named INS Dakar had also gotten
completely lost in the Mediterranean. The submarine vanished, just like Minerve
had.
The Russian Vessel K-129
Also, In March 1968, another
sub was lost. Russian vessel K-129 was never seen again after disappearing in
the North Pacific side. Searches were also performed after the disappearance
but with no results.
In May of that same year, the
USS Scorpion, a nuclear submarine from the US completely sank in the Atlantic
Ocean. Amongst all of these terrible tragedies, there is one particular thing
in common. Every single one of them resulted in the loss of all crew members,
who in many instances were over 50.
So Many Lives
So many families weren’t able
to have closure or be at peace with what could have happened to their family
members. For instance, in the INS Dakar alone, 69 men’s lives were lost. The
USS Scorpion and the K-129 disasters had a combined number of 197 fatalities.
Additionally, all of these
disappearances happened within an undeniable mystery. When Dakar went down, the
first one on the list to disappear chronologically, the submarine had
been an adaptation from WWII.
On a Mission to Israel
The submarine was on its way to
Israel, sailing along the Eastern part of the Mediterranean sea. The craft was
last heard at the beginning of the year 1968, on January 25. For about 30
years, the wrecks of Dakar were searched for and were eventually located in 1999.
The search crew could not
believe that after three decades, they had finally found the ship, or what
remained of it. A joint US-Israeli search team was the one finding it, about
9,800 feet underwater.
The Ship Was Found
The submarine’s wreckage was
located just between Cyprus and Crete. Nonetheless, even though they did manage
to find the remains, they never managed to understand why or how Dakar had gone
down the way it did.
And then, on March 8 of 1968,
another ship was lost. The Soviet vessel K-129 disappeared with no warning. In
August though, five months after its disappearance, the ship’s remains were
found 16,000 feet below the surface, closer to Oahu, a Hawaiian Island.
A Radioactive Situation
But because there could have
been a number of nuclear weapons in the submarine still, the president at the
time, Nixon, ordered that the salvage attempt was carried out in secret. But
that wasn’t all.
The whole recovery was pretty
hard to digest since one of the pieces of wreckage still had the bodies of six
Soviet crew members inside. Due to the gravity of the situation though, the
bodies were actually completely radioactive, so they couldn’t simply be taken
and buried.
A Mission Near Azores Island
They had to be sealed within a
steel container, made especially for that type of case. They were then given
the respect they deserved and were buried at sea in a military ceremony with
the crew members’ families.
When it comes to nuclear
weapons, however, no word of it was ever released to the public, and will
probably remain classified for a very long time. Conversely, the USS Scorpion
that also disappeared that same year was on a mission near Azores Islands, in
Portugal.
No One Was Alive
The 1968 surveillance mission consisted
of looking out for any threatening Soviet naval activity in that particular
region. After the successful completion of the mission, the submarine was ready
to go back to its base, in Virginia.
But something happened on the
way because the vessel never arrived, to the surprise of their colleagues back
in Norfolk. The ship was officially declared missing in June 1968. By then, the
entire crew was presumably no longer alive.
An Unexplained Catastrophe
After all, the last time anyone
had heard from them had been in mid-May. After several searches were made with
the hope of finding the ship’s wreckage, one ship named Mizar joined the team
and managed to make the important find.
Scorpion was found over 9,800
feet deep in the sea, nearly 460 miles away from the Island of Azores. The
event was shared all over the media and was even characterized as a completely
unexplained catastrophic event, that claimed the lives of so many people.
How Minerve Was Found
Over the years, commander
Fauve’s family had vowed to never give up on trying to understand what had
happened. Amongst them, was Fauve’s own son.
At the end of 2018, he decided
to take the lead by creating a media campaign that would motivate the
investigation to be re-opened. At that point, Minerve was the only remaining
submarine that had gone lost during WWII with no explanation being given. But
thankfully, because public pressure has become such a powerful tool, the French
government decided to reopen the case.
Search Efforts Started Once Again
Search efforts were renewed in
early July 2019, with the entire area of the Mediterranean being the target.
The search was operated by the seabed Constructor, a search vessel owned by the
American firm Ocean Infinity.
To everyone’s surprise, on the
22nd of July, the submarine was finally found about 7,700 deep under. It took
the team less than a month to locate the ship’s wreckage. Clearly, the
improvements made in underwater search technologies were bearing their fruits.
The wreckage had been found through the use of underwater drones.
Mixed Feelings
For Fauve’s son, the news was
absolutely mindblowing and very overwhelming. When he gave an interview to the
French newspaper, he shared that even though he had the support of many people
during the search, no one really believed that the submarine could actually be
found.
He had felt alone throughout
most of the hard journey, but now he finally had the answers he’d wanted his
whole life. One of the crew members’ wives, Therese Scheirmann-Descamps, also
had mixed feelings towards the situation.
The Reason Why Is Still Unknown
The discovery would finally
allow her and their children to find comfort and peace. Another family member
of one of the crew members, Jacques Dannay, was only two-years-old when his
father disappeared.
For him, he wasn’t really dead
until they had found the ship’s wreckage. Eventually, the French government
decided to declare the site where the wreckage had been found as a marine
sanctuary. Unfortunately, though, there is still no explanation as to why the ship
sank, and it might take investigators decades to find out why.
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