USS Sea Leopard
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Sea Leopard (SS-483) |
Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1] |
Laid down | 7 November 1944[1] |
Launched | 2 March 1945[1] |
Commissioned | 11 June 1945[1] |
Decommissioned | 27 March 1973[1] |
Stricken | 27 March 1973[2] |
Fate | Transferred to Brazil, 27 March 1973[1] |
Brazil | |
Name | Bahia (S-12) |
Acquired | 27 March 1973 |
Out of service | 1993 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 1998 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 8 in (95.00 m) [2] |
Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m) [2] |
Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) maximum [2] |
Propulsion | |
Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h) [3] |
Endurance |
|
Test depth | 400 ft (120 m) [3] |
Complement | 10 officers, 71 enlisted [3] |
Armament |
|
USS Sea Leopard (SS-483), a
United States Service
1940s
Following shakedown off the
In January 1947, she returned to
1950s
From August through November, she joined the
For the next two years, she operated in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, participating in fleet training exercises. In 1951 she recovered at sea the remains of Raymond Lewis of Brooklyn, New York, a victim of the FV Pelican disaster, which involved an overloaded party fishing boat that sank off the coast of Montauk on September 1, 1951.[8] In September and October 1952, Sea Leopard participated in NATO operation "Emigrant," and then cruised in Bermuda waters, until entering the Charleston Naval Shipyard in December for overhaul. Returning to duty in April 1953, the submarine operated in the vicinity of Newfoundland and Iceland in operation "Mariner," before returning to warmer waters in the Caribbean.
Sea Leopard's second deployment to the Mediterranean took place in May and June 1954 and was followed by her participation in NATO exercise "New Broom II," in which she made successful simulated attacks on NATO convoys. The submarine entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in October for a six-month overhaul. The yard work was followed by her participation in "LantPhibEx," as a member of forces opposing a simulated amphibious assault on the coast of North Carolina.
In February and March 1956, Sea Leopard, along with other units of SubRon 6, set sail for the Caribbean and operation "Springboard." She then returned to Norfolk for local operations until March 1957, when she again joined the
1960s
During 1960, Sea Leopard operated in the Atlantic in training exercises and fleet operations until 23 October, when she entered
Arriving back at Norfolk on 10 November, she again joined Task Group Alfa for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) training until February 1963. She then participated in operation "Springboard" in the Caribbean. Immediately following the loss of Thresher on April 10, 1963, she conducted an at-sea helicopter transfer of a crew member who had left the Thresher just three weeks earlier. In July, Sea Leopard rejoined Task Group Alfa, until entering Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 16 December for an overhaul. In October 1964, after refresher training out of
In March 1965, she joined Task Group Alfa, deploying to the Mediterranean and then returning to the Atlantic to participate in ASW exercises with that group until 24 November 1966. On 27 December, Sea Leopard entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul. In July 1967, she conducted type training with submarines Sablefish (SS-303) and Cubera (SS-347). The remainder of 1967 was spent in the Norfolk area.
In 1968, Sea Leopard participated in exercises "Aged Daddy V" and "Rugby Match," and joined the search for the ill-fated submarine Scorpion (SSN-589). From July through October, she operated with the
On 2 June 1969, Sea Leopard deployed on a special operation to the North Atlantic, returning to Norfolk on 15 August to operate in that area until entering Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 17 January 1970 for a six-month overhaul. In October, she participated in operation "Eyebolt," and then remained at Norfolk until getting underway early in January 1971 to participate in operation "Springboard" in January and February. From 18 May to 2 September, Sea Leopard was deployed to the Mediterranean; and, following her return to Norfolk, she was deployed from Key West in the early 1970s.
Sea Leopard was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on 27 March 1973 and transferred to
Bahia was sold for scrap in 1998. Her sail is preserved at the National Maritime Museum in São Francisco do Sul, Brazil.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
- ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory (Bantam, 1976), index.
- ISBN 978-0-07-148659-0.
- ^ a b Don James ET1(SS)(DV)
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery at navsource.org