The USS Requin (SS/SSR/AGSS/IXSS-481) is a distinguished Tench-class submarine built during World War II, notable for its extensive service and later role as a museum ship. Laid down on August 24, 1944, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, Requin was launched on January 1, 1945, and commissioned on April 28, 1945, under the command of Commander Slade D. Cutter. It was initially equipped with heavier armament than typical for fleet submarines, including an additional 5-inch/25-caliber deck gun and two 24-tube 5-inch rocket launchers, intended for bombardment in the planned invasion of Japan. Requin’s early service saw shakedown operations off New England, followed by deployment to Hawaii in mid-1945. However, with the end of World War II, her first war patrol was canceled, and she was recalled to the Atlantic. She operated primarily in the Atlantic, initially serving as a target for sonar training before being converted into a radar picket submarine under project MIGRAINE in 1946. During this conversion, her armament was reduced, including the removal of her deck guns and stern torpedo tubes, and she was fitted with new radar equipment. Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, Requin participated in Mediterranean deployments with the Sixth Fleet, as well as operations along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean. In 1959, she was converted to a Fleet Snorkel configuration, reclassifying her as SS-481, and resumed typical attack submarine duties. Her service included a notable exercise in 1961 involving simulated torpedo attacks on the USS Saratoga and a significant milestone in 1963 when she completed her 5,000th dive. Requin’s operational history extended into the Cold War era, with deployments to the Mediterranean and participation in exercises such as Operation UNITAS. Her last deployment in 1968 was during the search for the missing USS Scorpion. That year, she was reclassified as an auxiliary submarine (AGSS-481) and decommissioned on December 3, 1968. Following decommissioning, she served as a naval reserve training vessel and later as a memorial and museum ship in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1990, where she remains as a tribute to naval history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.