Ten Weeks
Ten weeks after the Electric Boat Company began the Grayback’s construction, she was launched by Rear Admiral Wilson Brown’s wife. The Grayback was later commissioned into the U.S. Navy in June. This was five months before the U.S. was embroiled in WWII.
Commissioned
After being commissioned into the U.S. Navy, the Grayback was sent on her first shakedown cruise, which was led under Lieutenant Willard A. Saunders’s command. This took place on Long Island Sound and was used to test out the submarine’s systems.