View source for USS Grampus (SS-523)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Grampus}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Grampus (SS-523).jpg
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1972}}
|Ship name=USS ''Grampus'' (SS-523)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Boston Navy Yard]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | authorlink =
  | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
  | year = 1995
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 285–304
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=8 February 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=15 December 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 October 1949<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=13 May 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=13 May 1972<ref name="Register">{{cite book
  | last = Bauer
  | first = K. Jack
  | authorlink =
  |author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
   | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
  | publisher = Greenwood Press
  | year = 1991
  | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
  | pages = 280–282
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Brazil]], 13 May 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Brazil
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Brazil|1968}}
|Ship name=''Rio Grande do Sul'' (S-11)
|Ship acquired=13 May 1972
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=16 November 1978
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Scrapped 1981
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(Completed as GUPPY II)
|Ship class=[[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*1,870&nbsp;tons (1,900&nbsp;t) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2">{{cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | authorlink =
  | title = U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
  | year = 1994
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 11–43
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 1-55750-260-9 }}</ref>
* 2,440&nbsp;tons (2,480&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship length={{convert|307|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs">''U.S. Submarines Since 1945'' pp. 242</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship propulsion=*4 × [[Fairbanks-Morse]] Model 38D8-{{frac|1|8}} 10-[[Cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] [[Opposed piston engine|opposed piston]] [[diesel engine]]s, equipped with a [[Submarine snorkel|snorkel]], driving [[electrical generator]]s<ref name="Register"/><ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/><ref name="FriedmanSubs1-engines">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 261.</ref>
* 1 × 184&nbsp;cell, 1 × 68&nbsp;cell, and 2 × 126&nbsp;cell [[Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program|GUPPY]]-type batteries (total 504&nbsp;cells)<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
* 2 × low-speed direct-drive [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse]] [[electric motor]]s<ref name="Register"/>
* two propellers<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship speed=*Surfaced:
* {{convert|18.0|kn|km/h|1}} maximum
* {{convert|13.5|kn|km/h|1}} cruising
* Submerged:
* {{convert|16.0|kn|km/h|1}} for {{frac|1|2}} hour
* {{convert|9.0|kn|km/h|1}} snorkeling
* {{convert|3.5|kn|km/h|1}} cruising<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship range=15,000&nbsp;nm (28,000&nbsp;km) surfaced at {{convert|11|kn|km/h}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=48 hours at {{convert|4|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
|Ship complement=*9–10 officers
* 5 petty officers
* 70 enlisted men<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=*WFA active sonar
* JT passive sonar
* Mk&nbsp;106 torpedo fire control system<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*10 × [[American 21-inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s
* &nbsp;(six forward, four aft)<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
}}
|}
'''USS ''Grampus'' (SS-523)''', a [[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-class submarine]], was the seventh ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for two members of the [[dolphin]] family ([[Delphinidae]]): ''Grampus griseus'', also known as [[Risso's dolphin]], and the [[orca]], also known as the killer whale.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Grampus''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 8 February 1944 at the [[Boston Navy Yard]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 16 December 1944, but [[World War II]] ended before she was completed, and she sat idle until construction resumed in 1948. On 26 October 1949, she was both christened — by her sponsor, Charlotte Linné Woodward, wife of [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]] [[Clark H. Woodward]], who also sponsored the [[USS Grampus (SS-207)|previous USS ''Grampus'' (SS-207)]] and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]].

==Operational history==

===1949-1966===
With her new [[Submarine snorkel|snorkel]]ing equipment, which permitted her to remain submerged for periods far longer than the [[World War II]] fleet [[submarine]]s, ''Grampus'' served as a prototype for the [[GUPPY]] submarines and also incorporated many features to appear later in nuclear submarines. Attached to SubDiv 61 at [[Norfolk, Virginia]], she participated in a variety of exercises along the East Coast and in the [[Caribbean Sea]], including [[torpedo]] and attack exercises, snorkeling tests and demonstrations, and antisubmarine training. ''Grampus'' also did a great deal of work with the early HUK (Hunter-Killer) antisubmarine patrols, now a vital part of American defenses, to whose development she greatly contributed.

From 5 January to 2 April 1955 ''Grampus'' proceeded independently to the [[Mediterranean Sea]], where she "showed the flag" at [[Algiers]], [[Naples]], [[Barcelona]], [[Malta]], [[Beirut]], [[Monaco]], and [[Gibraltar]] before returning to Norfolk and her routine of exercises and tests, spaced with regular overhauls at [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], and [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. During the late 1950s and early 1960s ''Grampus'' operated out of Norfolk in the North Atlantic.

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander D.A. Kilmer, ''Grampus'' sailed with Task Force "Alfa" for six weeks prior to 13 February 1964. On 3 April, she deployed with the [[US 6th Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] in the Mediterranean Sea until 3 August.

She operated out of the [[Virginia Capes]] until entering [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] in mid-April 1965 for overhaul. After refresher training and shakedown in the fall, ''Grampus'' operated along the East Coast engaging primarily in ASW exercises.

She departed [[Norfolk, Virginia]], on 13 May 1966 for the eastern Atlantic and Northern European countries to participate in NATO ASW exercises. Back in Norfolk on 30 August, she resumed operations in the [[Virginia Capes]] area and [[Caribbean Sea]] until sailing 29 December to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], for repairs in the naval shipyard. Shipshape again, she resumed operations with the Atlantic Fleet.

===1967-1981 (Decommissioning and service for Brazil)===

{{other ships|Brazilian ship Rio Grande do Sul}}

''Grampus'' was decommissioned and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 13 May 1972, and sold under the Security Assistance Program to [[Brazil]], where was renamed ''Rio Grande do Sul'' (S-11).  (She replaced the previous ''Rio Grande do Sul'' (S-11), [[USS Sand Lance (SS-381)|ex-''Sand Lance'']].) After six years of service, she was decommissioned on 16 November 1978 and scrapped on 18 June 1981.

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/grampus-vi.html}}

==External links==
* {{navsource|08/08523}}

{{Tench class submarine|others}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grampus (Ss-523)}}
[[Category:Tench-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Boston]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]<!-- built during -->
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Tench-class submarines of the Brazilian Navy]]