USS Paddle

History
United States
Name	USS Paddle (SS-263)
Namesake	Paddlefish
Builder	Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down	1 May 1942[1]
Launched	30 December 1942[1]
Commissioned	29 March 1943[1]
Decommissioned	1 February 1946[1]
Recommissioned	31 August 1956[1]
Decommissioned	18 January 1957[1]
Stricken	30 June 1968[2]
Fate	Transferred to Brazil unmodified, 18 January 1957[1]
History
Brazil
Name	Riachuelo (S–15)
Acquired	18 January 1957[1]
Stricken	March 1968
Fate	Sunk as a target around 30 June 1968[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement	1,525 tons (1,549 t) surfaced,[2] 2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged[2]
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2]
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2]
Draft	17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion	4 × electrical generators[4] 2 × 126- batteries[5] 4 × high-speed Allis-Chalmers electric motors with reduction gears[4] two propellers [4] 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced[4] 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged[4]
Speed	21 kn (39 km/h) surfaced,[3] 9 kn (17 km/h) submerged[3]
Range	11,000 nm @ 10 kn (20,000 km @ 19 km/h) surfaced[3]
Endurance	48 hours @ 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged,[3] 75 days on patrol
Test depth	300 ft (90 m)[3]
Complement	6 officers, 54 enlisted[3]
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 forward, 4 aft 24 torpedoes[5] 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) / 50 caliber deck gun[5] Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

USS Paddle (SS-263), a

Paddle's first patrol, from 20 July to 12 September 1943, was conducted south of Japan. She scored a hit on a large freighter in her first attack on 13 August, but alert escorts forced her down with a 13-hour depth charge attack. Enemy search planes damaged her slightly on 19 August with 7 bombs dropped as she patrolled submerged off the coast of Japan, but she repaired damage quickly and struck back, sinking Ataka Maru on 23 August.

During her second war patrol, from 17 October–9 November, Paddle took station off

Paddle's fourth war patrol, from 5 June–29 July, began with reconnaissance of the eastern approaches to Davao Gulf guarding against a Japanese sortie during the U.S. landings on Saipan. Damaged by bombs in the Celebes Sea on 30 June, Paddle repaired quickly and on 6 July attacked a small convoy, twice hitting a large freighter, and sinking Hokaze before being forced down by other escorts.

After refit at Fremantle, Paddle made her fifth patrol, from 22 August–25 September, encountering few contacts in her assigned area in the

She prepared for her next patrol in Mios Woendi Lagoon, sailing on 3 October for lifeguard^{[clarification needed]} off Balikpapan. During brief offensive periods, she sank two oil-laden sea trucks and a schooner by gunfire, then returned to Fremantle on 1 November.^{[citation needed]}

Her seventh war patrol began at Fremantle 25 November and ended at Pearl Harbor on 18 January 1945. Operating mainly in the South China Sea and west of Luzon, Paddle fought through heavy weather to join Hammerhead in sinking Shoei Maru and damaging an enemy destroyer.

After overhaul at

Placed in reserve at New London, Paddle decommissioned on 1 February 1946. She recommissioned on 31 August 1956 to prepare for transfer to Brazil under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. Decommissioned and transferred on 18 January 1957, she was simultaneously commissioned in the Brazilian Navy as Riachuelo (S-15). Riachuelo was stricken in March 1968 and sunk as a target around 30 June 1968.

Awards

Paddle received eight