| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | Gar |
| Pennant | 208 |
| Built by | Electric Boat Co. (Groton, Connecticut, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | 15 Jun 1939 |
| Laid down | 3 Apr 1940 |
| Launched | 31 Jan 1941 |
| Commissioned | 30 Jun 1941 |
| Lost | 27 Feb 1944 |
| Loss position | 25° 47'N, 128° 45'E |
| History | USS Grayback (Cdr. John Anderson Moore, USN) was sunk by a Japanese carrier-based aircraft in the East China Sea in position 25º47'N, 128º45'E. There were no survivors. |
Commands listed for USS Grayback (208)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Willard Arthur Saunders, USN | 30 Jun 1941 | 22 Sep 1942 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Edward Clark Stephan, USN | 22 Sep 1942 | 19 Jul 1943 |
| 3 | T/Cdr. John Anderson Moore, USN | 19 Jul 1943 | 27 Feb 1944 (+) |
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Notable events involving Grayback include:
8 Feb 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. Willard Arthur Saunders) arrived at Pearl Harbor from the US east coast.
15 Feb 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. W.A. Saunders) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Mariana and Bonin Islands area.
17 Mar 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. W.A. Saunders) torpedoed and sank the Japanese collier Ishikari Maru (3291 GRT) 6 nautical miles west of Port Lloyd, Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands in position 27°05'N, 142°05'E.
10 Apr 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. W.A. Saunders) ended her 1st war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
4 May 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. W.A. Saunders) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 2nd war patrol.
22 Jun 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. W.A. Saunders) ended her 2nd war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.
31 Oct 1942
While on her 4th war patrol USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. Edward Clark Stephan) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese transport ship Noto Maru (7191 GRT) off Rabaul in position 04°37'S, 152°30'E.
7 Dec 1942
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) departed from Brisbane, Australia for her 5h war patrol.
23 Jan 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) ended her 5th war patrol at Brisbane.
16 Feb 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) departed from Brisbane for her 6th war patrol.
13 Mar 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese transport ship Noshiro Maru (7184 GRT, offsite link) about 100 nautical miles north-west of Bismarck Archipelago in position 00°10'S, 151°06'E.
4 Apr 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) ended her 6th war patrol at Brisbane.
25 Apr 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) departed from Brisbane for her 7th war patrol.
11 May 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese collier Yodogawa Maru (6441 GRT) about 125 nautical miles north-west of Kavieng in position 00°47'S, 149°02'E.
16 May 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese destroyer Yugiri (offsite link) north-west of Kavieng in position 01°00'S, 148°44'E.
17 May 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship England Maru (5829 GRT) about 60 nautical miles north-west of Mussau Island in position 01°00'S, 148°40'E.
30 May 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. E.C. Stephan) ended her 7th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She was now sent to the US west coast for an overhaul.
26 Sep 1943
With her overhaul completed USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. John Anderson Moore) departed Pearl Harbor for her 8th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea together with USS Shad and USS Cero.
14 Oct 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker Kozui Maru (7072 GRT) north-west of Okinawa in position 27°35'N, 127°30'E.
22 Oct 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Awata Maru (7398 GRT, offsite link) west of Okinawa in position 26°40'N, 125°00'E.
27 Oct 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) finished off the Japanese merchant Fuji Maru (9130 GRT) north of Okinawa in position 28°20'N, 128°05'E. The Japanese ship was already sinking after being damaged by USS Shad. The two submarines shared the "kill".
10 Nov 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) ended her 8th war patrol at Midway.
2 Dec 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) departed Pearl Harbor for her 9th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea.
18 Dec 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant Gyokurei Maru (5588 GRT) east-north-east of Naha, Okinawa in position 26°30'N, 128°19'E.
19 Dec 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese destroyer Numakaze (offsite link) about 50 nautical miles east-north-east of Naha, Okinawa in position 26°30'N, 128°26'E.
21 Dec 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese auxiliary net layer Kashiwa Maru (515 GRT) and the merchant passenger/cargo ship Konan Maru (2627 GRT) south-south-west of Kagoshima, Japan in position 30°26'N, 129°58'E.
27 Dec 1943
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) sank a Japanese sampan with gunfire in the North Pacific in position 30°29'N, 159°25'E.
4 Jan 1944
USS Grayback (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Moore) ended her 9th war patrol at Pearl Harbor.
28 Jan 1944
USS Grayback (Cdr. J.A. Moore) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 10th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea.
19 Feb 1944
USS Grayback (Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Taikei Maru (4739 GRT) south-west of Takao, Formosa in position 21°48'N, 119°50'E. Later that day she torpedoed and sank the Japanese transport ship Toshin Maru (1917 GRT) in position 21°46'N, 120°06'E.
24 Feb 1944
USS Grayback (Cdr. J.A. Moore) torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker Nanho Maru (10033 GRT) about 20 nautical miles east of Formosa in position 24°20'N, 122°25'E and damaged the troop transport Asama Maru (16975 GRT) in position 24°15'N, 122°19'E.
26 Feb 1944
USS Grayback (Cdr. J.A. Moore) is damaged by land-based Japanese naval aircraft in the East China Sea in position 25°47'N, 128°45'E.
27 Feb 1944
USS Grayback (Cdr. J.A. Moore) is often credited with the sinking of the Japanese transport ship Ceylon Maru (4905 GRT) in the East China Sea in position 31°50'N, 127°45'E.
We (Administrators U-boat.net Allied warships section) consider this attack questionable as it is way off Graybacks last known position and the position of her loss. We consider it more likely that the loss of Ceylon Maru was due to a drifting mine. No American submarines were operating in the area of Ceylon Maru's loss at the time.
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