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| USS Requin | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | Requin |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down | 20 March 1943 |
| Launched | 11 September 1944 |
| Commissioned | 27 January 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 12 November 1968 |
| Fate | Museum ship |
| Class | Balao-class submarine |
| Displacement | 1,526 long tons (surfaced) |
| Length | 311 ft 8 in (95.0 m) |
| Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Propulsion | Diesel-electric; General Motors engines, electric motors |
| Speed | 20+ kn (surface); 8–9 kn (submerged) |
| Complement | ~80 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 10 × 21 in torpedo tubes, 1 × 5 in gun, various AA guns |
USS Requin USS Requin was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy commissioned in 1945 that served in the late stages of World War II, through the Cold War, and was later preserved as a museum ship in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and built to the Gato-class derivative standard embodied by the Balao design, Requin underwent modernization during the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) era and participated in Atlantic and Mediterranean deployments with the United States Sixth Fleet. After decommissioning she became an exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center adjacent to the Monongahela River.
Requin was a Balao-class submarine, a follow-on to the Gato-class submarine and an evolution influenced by wartime experience in the Pacific Theater and submarine operations against Imperial Japanese Navy forces. Keel-laying at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 20 March 1943 placed her within the wartime shipbuilding program overseen by Admiral Ernest J. King and the Bureau of Ships. The Balao class featured a thicker pressure hull steel designation that increased test depth over predecessors, drawing on engineering advances from Bethlehem Steel and design inputs from Electric Boat Company. Requin’s machinery included General Motors Winton/GM diesels paired with Westinghouse electric motors, standard among contemporary United States Navy fleet submarines. Armament adhered to fleet submarine norms with 10 21-inch torpedo tubes and deck guns compatible with ordnance from Naval Ordnance Laboratory inventories. Construction and trials involved coordination with Submarine Force Atlantic shakedown protocols and sea trials under the supervision of Commander Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet.
Commissioned 27 January 1945, Requin reported to Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet for initial training alongside other Balao-class boats, engaging in exercises at New London, Connecticut, Casco Bay, and the Virginia Capes. Crewed by officers and enlisted sailors trained at the Submarine School (New London), the boat integrated sonar and fire-control practices influenced by systems from Fairfield Engineering Corporation and later the Naval Electronics Laboratory. Postwar deployments connected Requin with operational centers at Norfolk, Virginia, Key West Naval Station, and ports in New England. During her career she rotated through modernization availabilities at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and maintenance at Charleston Naval Shipyard, participating in NATO exercises involving units from Royal Navy, French Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, and West German Navy contingents.
Requin entered service in the final months of World War II, completing shakedown and training while the Pacific War reached its climax with Battle of Okinawa and Operation Downfall planning. Although commissioned too late for extended wartime patrols against Imperial Japanese Navy surface and submarine units, Requin operated in the Atlantic approaches and prepared for transfer to the Pacific Fleet before Japan’s surrender following the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and subsequent Japanese Instrument of Surrender. Her outfitting and tactics reflected lessons from battles such as Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, including emphasis on submerged endurance, sonar evasion used against Japanese anti-submarine warfare measures, and torpedo doctrine revised after the Mark 14 torpedo controversies resolved by Admiral Ernest J. King’s oversight.
During the Cold War Requin adapted to new missions including anti-submarine warfare training, intelligence-gathering exercises, and NATO interoperability patrols. She underwent GUPPY-era modifications and FRAM upgrades to enhance submerged performance, battery capacity, and sonar suites compatible with technologies from Sperry Corporation and Raytheon. Deployments with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea brought port calls to Gibraltar, Naples, Valletta, Athens, and Marseille, and exercises with allies such as HMS Ark Royal (R09) task groups and Force H successor formations. Requin also served in training roles with Naval Reserve units and participated in multinational exercises like Operation Mainbrace and Operation Springboard. Her career intersected with broader naval developments including nuclear-powered USS Nautilus (SSN-571), shifts in antisubmarine warfare doctrine after incidents like the Soviet submarine S-363 and tensions following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
As newer nuclear submarine classes such as the Tench-class submarine and Skipjack-class submarine entered service, Requin was decommissioned in 1968 amid force modernization and budget realignments influenced by Navy Department policy. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register, she was transferred for disposal and eventual donation for public display. The boat’s material condition required preservation efforts to stabilize hull corrosion, interior systems, and non-ferrous fittings supplied by vendors tied to Naval Sea Systems Command and historic ship restoration programs coordinated with local municipalities and preservation societies.
After donation, Requin became a museum ship affiliated with the Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh’s North Shore along the Allegheny River and later berthed on the Ohio River near the Point State Park confluence. As a museum she joined a cohort of preserved submarines including USS Nautilus (SSN-571), USS Cod (SS-224), and USS Pampanito (SS-383), offering public tours that interpret submarine life, Cold War history, and naval technology evolution influenced by institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Exhibits aboard Requin highlighted torpedo handling, sonar consoles reminiscent of AN/BQS-15-era gear, and crew habitability compared with nuclear boats such as USS Seawolf (SSN-575). The museum program collaborated with veteran associations, educational initiatives from University of Pittsburgh, and local heritage organizations to preserve oral histories, artifacts, and archival records relating to submarine operations and 20th-century naval history.
Category:Balao-class submarines Category:Museum ships in Pennsylvania Category:Ships built in Kittery, Maine