![]() ![]() John MacGregor, commanding officer of "wolf-pack" partner USS Shad, labeled Moore as a "go-getter" with a "vivacious personality."įollowing her success as a "wolf-pack" member in 1943 Grayback was tasked to operate independently the following year. Hank Munson, a former Academy classmate of Moore's. "Professionally, Johnny was tops, and we placed him second to no one in the class," said Cmdr. Moore was an athlete at the Naval Academy (boxing and soccer) and was considered one of his class leaders. Johnny Moore lacked experience in fleet boats, but because of his excellent record of service in "R" and "S" boats, senior leaders believed he was headed for greatness. Fear of friendly fire notwithstanding, "wolf-packing" was here to stay and Momsen's first group was just as deadly as the 1942 subs operating alone.Ĭmdr. Generally, submarine skippers objected to "wolf-packing." They felt operating independently was more efficient and they all lived in dread that someday this method would sooner or later result in the sinking of one friendly submarine by another. Charles "Swede" Momsen's "wolf-pack" of Submarine Squadron Two. Moore assumed command of Grayback and joined two other subs (USS Shad and USS Cero) to form the first rendition of Capt. Submarines (Gudgeon, Tautog, Triton, and Seadragon) acting independently, combined to sink 81 enemy ships from Pearl Harbor to the East China Sea. In 1942 alone Grayback, along with four other U.S. Prior to Moore assuming command, the ship already had a deadly reputation. It was during the tenth and final patrol that the great ship met its ultimate fate.Īt the beginning of the war, Grayback was under the command of Cmdr. Overall, the ship is credited with sinking 22 enemy ships totaling 83,900 tons and damaging nine enemy ships totaling 49,300 tons during her ten war patrols. Moore used this dynamic approach in directing his vessel to sink nine enemy ships totaling 44,000 tons. Johnny Moore as "an aggressive leader who guided his charges into battle at full speed." As commanding officer of the USS Grayback (SS-208) during World War II, Cmdr. "Skip" Lockwood (COMSUBPAC 1943-1946) once described Cmdr. "To the 374 officers and 3131 men of the Submarine Force who gave their lives in the winning of this war, I can assure you that they went down fighting and that their brothers who survived them took a grim toll of our savage enemy to avenge their deaths." The front of the coin honors the USS Grayback SS 208. ![]() A beautiful 1.75-inch brass coin honoring the men of World War II who gave their lives fighting for our country. ![]()
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