The USS Grouper (SS/SSK/AGSS-214) was a Gato-class submarine constructed by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, with her launch occurring on October 27, 1941. She was commissioned on February 12, 1942, under the command of Lieutenant Commander C. E. Duke. Designed as a versatile and robust vessel, Grouper played a significant role in World War II combat and post-war research. During her wartime service, Grouper conducted numerous patrols in the Pacific Theater. Her first patrol began in June 1942, shortly after her arrival at Pearl Harbor, where she was involved in screening operations during the Battle of Midway, witnessing the destruction of Japanese aircraft carriers. She carried out her initial offensive patrols, damaging and sinking Japanese merchant ships, including the maru Tone Maru and Lisbon Maru, the latter carrying British POWs with over 800 casualties. She also sank the passenger-freighter Bandoeng Maru, headed for the Solomon Islands, and rescued stranded aviators and guerrilla fighters in the Solomon Islands area. Grouper’s operational history includes a notable incident on July 30, 1943, when she was mistakenly attacked by a U.S. Army B-25 Mitchell bomber in the Coral Sea, suffering damage that required repairs in Brisbane. She undertook a total of twelve war patrols, with her last kill occurring in June 1944. She also performed lifeguard duties, rescuing seven downed aviators during raids on the Palaus. Post-war, Grouper transitioned to training, operations, and research. She became the first submarine to install a Combat Information Center in 1946 and pioneered underwater sound research, eventually being converted into a "hunter-killer" submarine in 1950, with significant sonar and radar modifications. Reclassified as AGSS-214 in 1958, she served as a floating research laboratory, contributing to underwater acoustics studies and NATO exercises until her decommissioning on December 2, 1968. She was sold for scrapping in 1970, leaving a legacy of wartime valor and technological innovation in naval acoustics research.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.