Painful Mystery
The only people to have laid eyes on it was the team that recorded the event. But that would change.
The two women had expended so much of their time and resources to get here, they deserved to see it before anyone else. But things don't often go as planned.
Lost 52 Project
Project 52 wasn't the first people to start the mystery surrounding the object. But they made sure they'd be the group to find it.
Christine Dennison and her husband Tim Taylor owned a company that had one goal in mind. A Goal that would have them exploring ancient libraries to the bottom of the ocean.
History Hunt
The inspiration for their project's name including a 52 was for the 52 lost submarines during World War II
This was their life's work, and they really showed it in their dedication to find these vessels. But they had another important task too.
Vital Closure
They wanted the families of the people who served on these lost vessels to finally get some closure surrounding their disappearance.
Then, they were given permission to search for the U.S.S Greyback, they didn't even hesitate. What an opportunity it was, to recover the 80 lost souls that were on board.
Special Case
But this job would certainly have its complications. Nobody knew where the submarine even was since it vanished over 75 years ago.
According to experts, it wasn't where they had thought it should have been. The Greyback made many enemies throughout its ten-year service.
Lots Of Data
The Greyback also went by the name the S.S. 208. It started its journey in 1944 on the 28th of January. He was sure these notes were right.
A month after its departure, it reported to base saying it had eliminated two Japanese vessels. But this made things an issue. An issue that would turn into a big problem.
Running Low
The Greyback was now running low on torpedoes after its engagements. It needed to resupply at Midway Atoll, that's what they wanted to do at least.
But with their planned arrival 3 weeks overdue. People began to worry, where had they vanished to?
Enemy Documents
Looking through old documents, they determined that the carrier was spotted by a Japanese plane that ended up sinking them.
He kept going through the documents again and again. The document had finally been translated so he could read all of it. He started to get an idea of what was going on. But he shook his head, it couldn't have been too simple, could it have been?
Getting The Originals
He just needed to call the right offices in Japan to confirm it.
They quickly handed over the documents that he needed to examine. They even got a translator to help out, but that meant an error in the explanation would arise, causing the mystery to deepen.
Bad Translation
The documents from the U.S. were now translated for the other side too.
But in the speed and heat of war of WWII, one single number in the latitude and longitude had been transcribed incorrectly. Everyone had been looking in the wrong place.
Still Far To Go
What made it worse was that the new location was 100 miles away.
Not only that, if they wanted to cover all their bases, they would have to search an area of over 10 square nautical miles in only 24-hours.
Not Much Time
Tim and his wife rushed to get their team and equipment together, with a mix of excitement and worry.
At least their main piece of advanced tech was ready to go - an “water baby”, a 14-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle. The thousand-pound submersible drone was soon bobbing on the surface of the ocean.
Bad News
Tim held his breath every time the water drone resurfaced to transmit data to their computers on the main ship.
Every 3D image he stitched together was like a maddening tease - being so close to the truth but still not showing any sign of the Grayback. Suddenly, the drone pinged that something had happened.
Last Chance
The drone had signaled there was a malfunction.
The entire team sunk in defeat. It was the worst possible moment since they were nearly at the end of their time-frame. All Tim could do was stitch together that last batch of images with a long, sad face. But he quickly noticed something odd.
Something Odd
It wasn’t the normal array they had seen before.
There was a distinct set of lines - enough to give him hope. Tim ran to the door and called for his wife. His heart raced. Had they finally found it?
Finding The Grayback
The entire team looked at each other with wide eyes.
There was the Grayback! They all cheered and slapped each other on the back. It had been decades, but another sub had finally been found, and oh boy was this big lady impressive.
Impressive Submarine
Even with the damage inside – a clear message they had run into trouble, Tim could see just how amazing the sub was.
She had been built by Groton, Connecticut’s Electric Boat Company - the one that built the US Navy’s first sub ever. This girl had some serious firepower back in her day.
Powerful, Metal Lady
Her maximum surface speed was 20 knots and at lower speeds she could stay underwater for up to 48 hours.
Between that, the water displacement of 2,410 tons and a range of just over 12,500 miles, she was not an easy ship to take down. Suddenly, a hush fell over the salvage team.
Finding So Much More
It was a somber, sobering realization.
They hadn’t just found a hunk of metal 1400 feet below the waves. They had found the last resting place of 80 men. Even if there were no remains left, they were floating above a graveyard.
Showing The Most Important People
It was a harsh reminder that the next, most important, part was also going to be the hardest.
There would be no public broadcast or announcement - not until they showed two vital people who had been waiting a lifetime to know the truth.
First Look
Days later,Tim and his wife sat at the table with two older women, Gloria Hurney and Kathy Talyor - who had both lost an uncle in the disaster.
The woman both looked confused as to why they were there. Tim said, “We haven’t broadcast this yet and we wanted to be the first ones to tell that … this is the Grayback.”
Tears Falling
He pressed play.
The woman looked at the screen in shock. Gloria’s eyes turned wide and Kathy clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god,” she whispered. The tears were instant and they came without mercy.
Finding Family
“This is where your uncles are,” Tim said.
The video continued, slowly going over the length of the hull. The once shining, pristine metal was now green and black in decay. The place where the torpedo had made impact came into view. The women gasped.
Old Wounds Healing
Tim and his wife sat silently as Gloria and Kathy embraced.
The tears came harder. The moment had definitely ripped open old wounds. However, Kathy grabbed a tissue, dried her eyes and said something that brought tears to Tim’s eyes as well.
Answers And Thank Yous
“He’s come back. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
The group sat together, comforting each other and looking over the rest of the video. The women shared stories of their uncles. Tim and his wife told them about the breadcrumbs that had led them there. Everyone had finally found their answers.