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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Lester Palifka, left, center and right by Mike Smolinski.

Requin (SS-481) (SSR-481)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Echo - Charlie
Tench Class Submarine: Laid down, 24 August 1944, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Launched, 1 January 1945; Commissioned USS Requin (SS-481), 28 April 1945; Converted to a Radar Pickett Submarine at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH in 1946; Reclassified, (SSR-481) in January 1948; August of 1959, converted to the Fleet Snorkel configuration, at Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, SC; Reclassified (SS-481), 15 August 1959; Decommissioned, 3 December 1968; Placed in service and assigned St. Petersburg, FL., as a Naval Reserve Training Ship; Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 20 Deceimber 1971; Final Disposition; Sold 13 June 1972 to Nicolai Joffe for $ 83,710.00. Sale Cancelled & Trans. to Tampa Florida Chamber of Commerce for tourist attraction until 1986. Removed 24 May 1990 & towed to Pittsburgh, PA. Arrived 4 Sept.1990 at Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, PA, in 1990, and again open for public viewing.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves, HTC, USNR (ret.)

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,570 t., Submerged: 2,414 t.; Length 311' 8"; Beam 27' 4"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2kts; Operating Depth, 400 ft; Complement 7 Officers 69 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 5"/25 deck gun, two 20mm guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four Fairbanks Morse main generator engines, 5,400HP, Fuel Capacity, 113,510 gal., two Elliot Motor Co. main motors with 2,740HP, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.
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Requin 25k Commemorative launch day badge from Requin's (SS-481) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME, 1 January 1945.
Courtesy of James A Munroe in remembrance of his father Raymond L Munroe Sr. who worked at the yard during WW II and the Korean wars as a chauffeur.
Requin 35k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of the Requin's (SS-481) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME, 1 January 1945. Courtesy of petloveshack.com.
Requin 34k Starboard side view of the Requin (SS-481) in port, circa 1945-6. Courtesy of Historic Naval Ships Association (hnsa.org).
Requin 61k In 1953, Requin (SSR-481) maintained her schedule of 2d and 6th Fleet operations, but at the end of the year put into Philadelphia for an extensive modernization overhaul. She is pictured here as an SSR. Photo courtesy of Robert Hurst. Text courtesy of DANFS.
Redfin139kRedfin (SS-272) with the Grampus (SS-523) and other subs alongside AS-18 Orion was taken between 1953-55. The "Nodding idiot" on Redfin was converted to the electronic version in 1956. The other 3 boats are from outboard in Migraine II Requin (SS-481) and Migraine I Burrfish (SS-312) and Tigrone (SS-419). The order of the last 2 might be reversed.
Text contributed by Larry Derouin. Photographed and contributed by John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Requin 85k Requin (SSR-481) off Philadelphia after an extensive modernization overhaul, 26 July 1954. USN photo, text courtesy of DANFS.
Shark, Triton, Redfin & Requin 127k Shark (SSN-591), in port at San Juan, PR., 1965. Triton (SSN-586) on left, you just see her topside. Redfin, (SS-272) and Requin (SS-481) are outboard of her. Photograped and contributed courtesy of John Hummel.
Redfin, Runner, Requin & Argonaut44kRedfin (SS-272) inboard of Runner (SS-476), Requin (SS-481) and Argonaut (SS-475) with other subs of SubRon 6, circa mid-late 1960's,location unknown.
Contributed by John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Requin 70k Requin (SS-481), Suda Bay, Crete, June 1967. © Richard Leonhardt
Requin 822k Requin (SS-481) dockside at Genoa Italy, 1 July 1967. Photo courtesy of Carlo Martinelli.
Requin 473k Busy port scene as the Requin (SS-481) fills the picture with a broadside view, dockside at Genoa Italy, 1 July 1967. Photo courtesy of Carlo Martinelli. Photo added 04/01/09.
Requin 261k Requin (SS-481), underway, date and location unknown. Courtesy of John Hummel.
Requin 43k Port view of the Requin (SS-481) moored on the Ohio River in front of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh PA. ©1999 Thomas Pollard Photography, Courtesy of Fred Weiss.
Requin 118k Port side view of the Requin (SS-481), moored on the Ohio River in front of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh PA. Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
Requin 164k Forward torpedo tubes aboard the Requin (SS-481). Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
Requin 166k Requin's (SS-481) after battery & crew's mess, 29 Sept. 2006. Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
Requin 214k Forward engine room looking aft into after engine room of the Requin (SS-481), 29 Sept. 2006. Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
View the Requin (SS-481)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Requin (SS-481/SSR-481) Home Page
Carnegie Science Center - USS Requin SS-481 Exibit
Tench Class Submarines
Full Fathom Five, U.S. Submarine War Against Japan

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