Missing U.S. submarine from World War II found near Alaska Islands

Newly discovered three-dimensional image of the Grunion's bow. (?Lost 52 Project/PRNewsfoto)

Nearly 80 years ago, the American submarine USS Grunion sank on its first mission during World War II, taking the lives of 70 crew members when it crashed into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Now, after years of searching, a team searching for the World War II-era submarine using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has discovered the bow of the Grunion 2,700 feet (820 meters) beneath the surface off the coast of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. and advanced photogrammetric imaging technology to create 3D images of underwater vessels.

"This is so much more than video or still images, it's really the future of documenting historic underwater discoveries," ocean explorer Tim Taylor, on the Lost 52 project, a search for World War II The team of 52 submarines lost during the period said in a statement. [Photos: World War II shipwreck discovered off North Carolina coast]

Taking these detailed three-dimensional images is useful to science because "archaeologists and historians [can now] spend several months of detailed research at home," Taylor points out, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the Grunion that sank in 1942. (Lost 52 projects/PRNewsfoto)

The United States commissioned the Grunion on April 11, 1942, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Manette Abel. The submarine helped the Allies from the beginning; when the submarine sailed from the Caribbean to the first outpost at Pearl Harbor, it rescued 16 survivors from the USS Jack (USAT), a transport ship that had been captured by a German U.S. Navy. Type submarine sunk with torpedoes.

The first patrol of the USS Grunion was also its last. In June 1942, the submarine was sent to the Aleutian Islands. Once off Kiska, Alaska, a submarine sank two Japanese patrol boats. Subsequently, on July 30, the Grunion was ordered to return to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the naval operating base in the region. Along the way, Grunion encountered disaster and was never heard from again. The submarine was declared wrecked on October 5, 1942.

, but Grunion’s story does not end there. In 2006, Abel's three sons - Bruce, Brad and John - began after receiving "tips from a distinguished Japanese gentleman, Yutaka Iwasaki, and help from many other sources." Search for the wreckage of the submarine. The brothers joined Williamson & Associates, a marine geophysics and ocean engineering company, and side scan sonar services. Side-scan sonar is a system that can image large areas of the seafloor, helping them find missing submarines. However, the bow of the submarine was missing. In October 2018, the Lost 52 project searched nearby and found the ship's bow sliding down a steep volcanic dike about a quarter-mile (0.4 kilometers) from the main wreckage, Taylor told CNN.

To give families, the Navy and researchers a glimpse of the submarine, 3D images of Missing 52 have just been released. You can see more in the video below. PHOTOS: World War I-era German undersea shipwreck found off Scottish coast Photo gallery: Stunning photos of Titanic wreck in photos: Shipwreck illegally plundered in the Java Sea during World War II

Originally Published in the journal Live Science.