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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Grenadier (SS-525)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Kilo - India
Tench Class Submarine: Laid down, 8 February 1944, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.; Launched, 15 December 1944; Construction suspended in 1946; Completed as a Guppy type submarine, and Commissioned USS Grenadier (SS-525), 10 February 1951; Decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, and transferred (sold) under terms of the Security Assistance Program to Venezuela, 15 May 1973 following ceremony at Key West, FL. as ARV Picua (S-13). Final Disposition;Decomm. 16 November 1978, stricken 1 January 1980 & sold 18 June 1981 to Verlome Shipyard, Angra Dos Reis, Brazil.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)

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 6,400. Fuel Capacity, 113,510 gal., Elliot electric motors, HP 2,740, four 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.
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Grenadier137kBow view of the Grenadier (SS-525) in Dry Dock 5, Boston Naval Shipyard, 19 December 1950. USN photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Cat. No. BOSTS-11283-2028, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
Grenadier151kPort after quarter view of the Grenadier (SS-525) in Dry Dock 5, Boston Naval Shipyard, 19 December 1950. USN photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Cat. No. BOSTS-11283-2030, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
525 NR Commander to See Wife Name Sub for One He Lost in 1943
Grenadier's (SS-525) Skipper Spent Two Years as Japanese Prisoner		 Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo by Evening Star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 30 January 1951, Image 2, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Grenadier199kThe star of the day waits: Grenadier (SS-525) on her commissioning day on 10 February 1951. USN photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Cat. No. BOSTS-12853-1, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
Grenadier191kCommissioning ceremony, Grenadier (SS-525), Pier 10, Boston Naval Shipyard, 10 February 1951. USN photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Cat. No. BOSTS-11285-2, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
Grenadier191kPhotograph of Princess Elizabeth, Colonel in Chief, Grenadier Guards, and Grenadier Guards plaque presented by British consul general (center) to Grenadier (SS-525) during her commissioning on 10 February 1951. USN photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Cat. No. BOSTS-11285-3, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
Grenadier134kGrenadier (SS-525) in stream, 15 May, 1951. USN photo from the National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Cat. No. BOSTS-11281-684, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard.
GUPPY 222k Broadside view of a cutout of a GUPPY design. Photo courtesy of ussgrampus.com.
GUPPY 182k Overhead view of a cutout of a GUPPY design. Photo courtesy of ussgrampus.com.
Grenadier 44k Grenadier (SS-525) underway 1952, place unknown. Photo courtesy of Rudy Diaz.
BB-64 Wisconsin
0852564		NRBack from Errand to a Submarine; ROTC Cadet’s Performance Seen by Editor on Cruise to South America
This is one of the sights seen by the editor of the Weekly from the deck of the battleship Wisconsin (BB-64), in the course of the training cruise to South America. "The young man in the traveling chair," he says in a letter accompanying the picture, "is Midshipman Gerald Wilson Cook of Winston-Salem, from the University Naval ROTC". Here he is on his way back from having served as assistant to another North Carolinian, Ensign T. C. Haddon, jr., of Durham, in paying off the crew of the Grenadier (SS-525), the latest word in Snorkel-type submarine construction. On this errand they took $20,000 with them from the Wisconsin. For the sub’s crew payday had passed without pay, and the big battleship, which has, as the sub does not have, ample space for stores of various supplies (including money), came to the rescue...... 		Image and text provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC.
Photo from The Chapel Hill Weekly. [volume] (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1923-1972, 10 July  1953, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Grenadier 215k Sail away, 1950's version: Three different types appear in this photo:
Archerfish (SS-311), Grenadier (SS-525) & Chopper (SS-342) in Key West, Fla, during the 1950's. 		Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Irex & Grenadier 475k Irex (SS-482) & Grenadier (SS-525), tied up to the wharf in Monaco, February 1956 while conducting submarine warfare training with the 6th Fleet. USN photo courtesy of Ed Martin LCDR,USN(Ret.)
Partial text courtesy of DANFS.
Photo i.d. courtesy of Brent Duncan.
525 225k Crewmen of the submarine Grenadier (SS-525) stand on deck after the sub ran aground on coral reefs off the Bermuda coast 13 August during the 1950's. First reports said the sub was in no immediate danger of sinking, although part of her 71 man crew was removed to rescue vessels. The Grenadier, whose home base is New London CT.,struck reefs outside the reputedly clearly marked channel in clear weather and calm seas. UP Radiotelephoto courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
525 239k AT SEA OFF BERMUDA: Crewmen of the submarine Grenadier (SS-525), grounded on coral reefs eight miles due north of Bermuda, heave on lines to pull a Coast Guard crash boat alongside and secure the boat to the sub. First reports said the sub was in no immediate danger of sinking, although part of her 71 man crew was removed to rescue vessels. The Grenadier, whose home base is New London CT.,struck reefs outside the reputedly clearly marked North channel in clear weather and calm seas. UP Radiotelephoto courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory)
Grenadier 165k Grenadier (SS-525), entering N.Y. City harbor and passing the Statue of Liberty. Photo was taken Armed Forces Day 1957. It was used in the Grenadier's 1957 Christmas card. Photo courtesy of Brent Duncan, former Grenadier webmaster/ussgrenadier.com.
Grenadier 124k Grenadier (SS-525), while alongside the Reynolds Aluminum Bauxite pier in Ocho Rios, Jamaica circa 1959. Text courtesy of Brent Duncan, former Grenadier webmaster. Photo courtesy of ussgrenadier.com.
Grenadier 282k In this undated file photo U.S. Navy Adm. Jerauld Wright, Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, personally congratulates each member of the crew of the diesel submarine Grenadier (SS-525) for providing proof that the Soviet Union was conducting submarine operations in the Atlantic Ocean. On 29 May 1959 he gave them a case of Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Black Label Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey. USN photo # N-0000X-056 by MC1 Todd A. Schaffer courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Grenadier 250k KEY WEST, Fla. - In this undated file photo Lt. Cmdr. Ted Davis, center, marks a "Z" on the sail of the Tench-class diesel submarine Grenadier (SS-525) as Commander Submarine Squadron 12 Capt. Fritz Harlfinger, left, and Commander Submarine Division 122 Cmdr. Brez Betzel look on. Davis was able to claim the mock "Z" after tracking a Soviet Zulu-class submarine for more than 18 hours, leading to the first documented evidence that the Soviet Union was conducting submarine operations in the Atlantic Ocean. The event was an intelligence coup for the U.S. military. USN photo courtesy of the Veterans Hour via Robert Hurst.
Grenadier 122k In this undated file photo Lt. Cmdr. Ted Davis wears a medal created for him by crew members of the Tench-class diesel submarine Grenadier (SS-525) in recognition of his leadership during the tracking of a Soviet Zulu-class submarine that led to the first documented evidence that the Soviet Union was conducting submarine operations in the Atlantic Ocean. The event culminated shortly after midnight on 29 May 1959, more than 18 hours after the Soviet submarine was first located by Grenadier's sonar operators. The medal, made out of a mayonnaise lid and pieces of an old flag, and nicknamed the "Arleigh Medal" after then-Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke, was returned by Davis nearly 45 years later to Willie Dunagan, a Radioman 2nd Class aboard Grenadier, who was one of several crew members who created the medal. USN photo courtesy via Bill Gonyo.
525 529k Six page Grenadier (SS-525) Welcome Aboard PDF. Courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
525 330k Inspection by Admiral Elton Watters Grenfell on the Grenadier (SS-525) in Key West harbor.
C. B. Haven is in the center nearest the camera.		 Photo by Alan Shapiro & submitted courtesy of Annette Haven.
525 525k Grenadier (SS-525) Thanksgiving 1962 at the dock in Gitmo. Photos by Alan Shapiro & submitted courtesy of Annette Haven.
Atule168kSail away, 1960's version: As many different types of sails as there are boats in this photo of Squadron 12, Key West Fla, in Mid 60's:
Atule (SS-403), Balao (SS-285), Grenadier (SS-525) & Bluegill (SS-242).		Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Grenadier 44k Grenadier (SS-525) in Toulon, France, 1965. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Grenadier 320k Grenadier (SS-525) broadside in Malta, 24 April 1965. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Grenadier 106k Forward torpedo room looking forward towards tubes. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Grenadier 104k Forward torpedo room looking after towards forward battery on Grenadier (SS-525). Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Grenadier 86k After engine room on Grenadier (SS-525). Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Grenadier 66k Bow view of the Grenadier (SS-525) sonar chin in drydock. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Blenny & CO 143k Mixed bag of boats from different bases moored together possibly at the Key West Naval Base or at Roosevelt Roads, P.R.
From left to right & front to back: From New London with the eight ball plaque of subron 8; Blenny (SS-324); from Key West with the subron 12 plaque: Grenadier (SS-525); from Norfolk with the subron 6 plaque; Carp (SS-338) & again from Key West; the Balao (SS-285) tied up to the pier. Behind them and from Charleston with subron 4 is the Trigger (SS-564) and an unidentified boat.
Grenadier received her high sail in an overhaul in 1961-62. I found a picture of Blenny that showed her with a high sail that was dated 18 April 1966. All of the boats in the photo were known to have been based in, or operating out of, Key West in the period of 1962-1966. Therefore, I can reliably conclude that this photo was taken between 1962 and 1966.
Grenadier and Balao (SS-285) participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade in October, 1962. In November, Grenadier was one of several ships that participated in a maritime rights show of force exercise off Cuba. It is conceivable that these other boats were dispatched to the area as backup in case this exercise went south. So it's possible that this photo was taken during late 1962 during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 		Photo by Tim "T-Spoon" Spoon & submitted by John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Text I.d. courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired). Mike Keating & David Johnston
Grenadier 263k Fifty years after the event, Retired Navy Capt. Ted Davis recounts the events of 29 May 1959, the day the submarine he commanded, Grenadier (SS-525), surfaced a Soviet submarine in the Atlantic Ocean. The event proved for the first time that the Soviet Union was conducting submarine operations in the Atlantic, and was an intelligence coup for the U.S. military. USN photo # N-7705S-010 by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Todd Schaffer via Bill Gonyo.
Grenadier977kGrenadier (SS-525) off the Atlantic coast, April 1967. USN photo # NPC 1121389 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Grenadier621kGrenadier (SS-525) off the Atlantic coast, March 1969. USN photo # NPC K-69601 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Grenadier
0821052		1.40k Grenadier (SS-210) & Grenadier (SS-525) Plaque. Photo courtesy of Authors Collection.
ARV Picua (S-13)
Grenadier 955k Article and photo of the CO and three guys off Grenadier (SS-210) sunk in WWII. It was taken at the decommissioning and transfer of Grenadier (SS-525) to Venezuela. The article appeared in the "Key West Outpost" (the base paper) on 23 May 1973.
As an interesting side note, the paper got the hull number wrong, in the first line of the article. Grenadier (SS-210) was the one lost in WWII. 		Photo & article courtesy of Mike Keating.
Cubera161kCubera (SS-347) next to pier, and Grenadier (SS-525) outboard, February 1987 right after transfer to Venezuela.Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
View the Grenadier (SS-525)
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 Grenadier SS525
Guppy Submarines
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ
HISTORIC SUBMARINE DOCUMENTARY AND TRAINING FILMS
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