In this undated file photo the submarine USS Grunion (SS 216) is seen underway. Grunion was reported lost on August 16, 1942 after reporting firing on an enemy destroyer, sinking three destroyer-type vessels, and attacking unidentified enemy ships during her first war patrol. The boat has been found off the coast of the Aleutian Islands by the sons of the boat's commanding officer, who was lost with the ship in World War II. U.S. Navy Photo (Released)
Take a tour of a GATO Class submarine if you ever get the chance. An 11,000 mile Pacific criuse at ten knots on those things was NOT a vacation.
Lamh Foistenach Abu! God rest your souls, and God bless the family and loved ones who now have some closure after all of these years.
Lawrence Richard Kockler, of New Haven, Conn, was one of 70 men lost when the submarine USS Grunion was declared missing in 1942.
Betty Kockler was 12 years old when a telegram arrived for her mother at their home in Connecticut.
She got hold of her mother at work, Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in New Haven, Conn., but was told to go to school and that her mother would read the message when she got home.
“I think she knew what it was,” Betty Kockler said in an August 2007 interview.
The telegram, dated Sept. 29, 1942, informed the Kocklers that Lawrence Richard Kockler, the eldest of four, was missing in the performance of his duty to the Navy. The telegram also warned that details of his ship and station should not be revealed “to prevent possible aid to our enemies” and that delay in additional details should be expected.
He was a torpedoman’s mate, 1st class, serving aboard the Grunion. It was on its first voyage, having left New London, Conn., in May 1942, soon after Lawrence Kockler married. Last year, Betty Kockler was visiting her brother, William, at his Elizabeth City, NC, home when they heard the news that the Grunion might have been found.“We had always wondered what had happened,” William Kockler said in an interview last year. “Now, hopefully, the experts will be able to figure it out.”
What an amazing story...Commaning Officer Abele’s sons must be as remarkable as their Dad. And they must have been raised by a woman who knew no bounds to her love and loyalty for her husband.
Dear Heavenly Father, Bless the lives lost aboard the Grunion. And bless their families who had to live so long without knowing...
USS MANNERT L. ABELE (DD-733)
CLASS - ALLEN M. SUMNER As Built.
Displacement 3218 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 376' 6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14' 2" (Max)
Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 36.5 Knots, Range 3300 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew 336.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME December 9 1943.
Launched April 23 1944 and commissioned July 4 1944.
Fate Sunk by Japanese Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa April 12 1945.
73 of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on duty.
On Eternal Patrol...
Bernard Joseph Pickel
Rank/Rate Seaman, First Class
Birth Date March 20, 1924
From Clayton, Missouri
Decorations Purple Heart
Submarine USS Grunion (SS-216)
Loss Date July 30, 1942
http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-grunion-216.htm
Steel embrittlement due to cold water temp's? Quite a few ships were lost catastrophically especially en-route to Murmansk due to the steel becoming embrittled due to the low temperatures.
Low temperature weakened steel may have reduced the maximum depth she could dive.
BTTT