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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch on left contributed by Mike Keating, on right courtesy of naviosdeguerrabrasileiros.hpg.ig.com.br

Amberjack (SS-522)
Decommissioning - Transfer to Brazil

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Juliet - Tango

To Additional Pages

Keel Laying - Shakedown Cruise
Guppy Conversion
Post Guppy Life
Decommissioning Pamphlet

Tench Class Submarine: Laid down, 8 February 1944, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.; Launched, 15 December 1944; Commissioned USS Amberjack (SS-522), 4 March 1946; Underwent "Guppy" Modernization in 1947-48; Decommissioned, simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 17 October 1973, at US Naval Submarine Base, Key West FL.; Transferred (sold) under the Security Assistance Program to Brazil, renamed Ceara (S-14); Final Disposition, fate unknown.

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 single 20mm guns; two /30 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four main generator motors, Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, HP 5,400. Fuel Capacity, 113,510 gal., Elliot electric motors, HP 2,740, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
377k	Newspaper clipping of Amberjack's (SS-522) transfer to the Brazilian Navy, October 18, 1973 from the Key West Citizen.	Courtesy of Mike Keating.
89k	Petty Officer Cassidy (left) and Petty Officer Doggett (US crew) folding Amberjack's (SS-522) colors for the last time.	Photo from the Key West Citizen, courtesy of Mike Keating.
34k	Petty Officers Doggett and Cassidy lowering Amberjack's (SS-522) colors, ending her service in the United States Navy.	Photo from the Key West Citizen, courtesy of Mike Keating.
59k	Some of Amberjack's (SS-522) crew and Officers mustered for the last time, (as her crew) preparing to leave the boat. I believe that's Petty Officer Wilson, carrying *Amberjack's* name board.	Photo from the Key West Citizen, courtesy of Mike Keating.
275k	Key West Citizen newspaper article and photo of the Amberjack (SS-522) and detailing the closing of the base there.	Photo from the Key West Citizen, courtesy of Mike Keating.
95k	This picture was originally published in the Key West Citizen on 29 March 1973 Key West Citizen newspaper article and photo of the Amberjack (SS-522) on her return from her last deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.	Photo from the Key West Citizen, courtesy of Mike Keating.
252k	LCDR Stuart Merriken leaves a rear hatch on the submarine Amberjack (SS-522) at the Key West Naval Base. The sub is to be turned over to the Brazilian Navy. The *Amberjack* was the last active naval vessel at the Kew West base and one of a handful of deisel submarines left in the navy.	Photo courtesy of Mike Keating.
93k	Petty Officer St.Clair was the last man to retire from Amberjack (SS-522), prior to her transfer to the Brazilian Navy.	Photo from the Key West Citizen, courtesy of Mike Keating.
218k	Amberjack's (SS-522) flag is folded for the last time. The sailor in the picture is a Petty Officer second class, his name is Doggett. The article also contains additional history of the Key West base. It was published in the Miami Herald on 18 October 1973.	Photo from the Miami Herald, courtesy of Mike Keating.
656k	History of the Amberjack (SS-522). The article also contains additional history of the Key West base. It was published in the Miami Herald on 18 October 1973.	Photo from the Miami Herald, courtesy of Mike Keating.
110k	This picture was originally published in the Outpost (Base Paper) on 23 May 1973. The caption explains that she's flying the Dolphin Pennant, which indicates that all crew members of the Amberjack (SS-522) have qualified in Submarines.	Photo courtesy of Mike Keating.