USS Sea Leopard (SS-483)
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{|{{Infobox Ship Begin}}
{{Infobox Ship Image
|Ship image=[[Image:No Photo Available.svg]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=US
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1973}}
|Ship name=USS ''Sea Leopard'' (SS-483)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]], [[Kittery, Maine]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| date = 1995
| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = pp. 285-304
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=[[7 November]] [[1944]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=[[2 March]] [[1945]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=[[11 June]] [[1945]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=[[27 March]] [[1973]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=[[27 March]] [[1973]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| date = 1991
| location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = pp. 280–282
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Brazil]], [[27 March]] [[1973]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship status=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Brazil
|Ship flag=[[Image:Flag of Brazil.svg|60px|Brazilian Naval Ensign]]
|Ship name=''Bahia'' (S-12)
|Ship acquired=[[27 March]] [[1973]]
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=1993
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=
|Ship status=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]] <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=1,570 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,595 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced <ref name="Register"/><br />2,414 tons (2,453 t) submerged <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|8|in|abbr=on|lk=on}} <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|abbr=on}} <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}} maximum <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-FM-2-E}}
|Ship speed={{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=on}} surfaced <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref><br />{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km|lk=on}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|km/h}} <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/><br />75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}} <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 71 enlisted <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch-28-torps}}
}}
|}
'''USS ''Sea Leopard'' (SS-483)''', a [[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-class submarine]], was the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the sea leopard, a spotted Antarctic [[Pinniped|seal]] commonly called the [[leopard seal]]. Her keel was laid down by the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]] on [[7 November]] [[1944]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on [[2 March]] [[1945]] sponsored by Hon. Margaret Chase Smith, United States Congresswoman from [[Maine]], and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on [[11 June]] [[1945]] with Commander R. E. M. Ward in command.
Following shakedown off the [[New England]] coast, ''Sea Leopard'' was ordered to the Pacific War Zone. However, hostilities with Japan ceased before the submarine's departure date; and she remained in the Atlantic. The submarine then proceeded to [[Key West, Florida]], and she remained in [[Florida]] waters through 1946 providing services to the Antisubmarine Development Force.
In January 1947, she returned to [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], for her first shipyard overhaul. Next came training exercises in the Key West area until late 1948, when she entered the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] for a [[Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program]] (GUPPY) modernization. Upon completion, she was assigned to Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 6 and home ported at [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. In November 1949, she joined other units in cold water exercises in the Atlantic. During February and March 1950, the submarine participated in maneuvers in the [[Caribbean Sea]].
From August through November, she joined the [[US 6th Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], visiting ports of [[Italy]], [[France]], and [[Sicily]], before returning home. From December 1950 to April 1951 ''Sea Leopard'' was undergoing overhaul at the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]].
For the next two years, she operated in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and [[Caribbean Sea]], participating in fleet training exercises. In September and October 1952, ''Sea Leopard'' participated in [[NATO]] operation "Emigrant," and then cruised in [[Bermuda]] waters, until entering the [[Charleston Naval Shipyard]] in December for overhaul. Returning to duty in April 1953, the submarine operated in the vicinity of [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] and [[Iceland]] in operation "Mariner," before returning to warmer waters in the Caribbean.
''Sea Leopard''’s second deployment to the Mediterranean took place in May and June of 1954 and was followed by her participation in [[NATO]] exercise “New Broom II,” in which she made successful simulated attacks on NATO convoys. The submarine entered the [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] in October for a six-month overhaul. The yard work was followed by her participation in "LantPhibEx," as a member of forces opposing a simulated amphibious assault on the coast of [[North Carolina]].
In February and March 1956, ''Sea Leopard'', along with other units of SubRon 6, set sail for the Caribbean and operation "Springboard." She then returned to Norfolk for local operations until March of 1957, when she again joined the [[US 6th Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] in the Mediterranean. In June, she participated in festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the [[Netherlands]] Submarine Force at [[Rotterdam]], before sailing to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], for an overhaul. Upon its completion in January 1958, ''Sea Leopard'' joined operation "Springboard" in the Caribbean and then returned to Norfolk for local operations. Joining Task Group Alfa, she participated in operations to develop antisubmarine warfare tactics and readiness, until undergoing restricted availability at Charleston Naval Shipyard (August to October 1959) to install a new high capacity battery.
During 1960, ''Sea Leopard'' operated in the Atlantic in training exercises and fleet operations until [[23 October]], when she entered [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] for overhaul. Following completion in April 1961, she returned to Norfolk and operated locally until [[19 August]] when she joined Task Force 69 in the Mediterranean to participate in NATO operation "Checkmate" and visit [[Rota, Spain]]; [[Malta]] and [[Naples, Italy]]. On [[3 October]], ''Sea Leopard'' sailed from the Mediterranean for northern Europe and NATO operation "Devil Spread."
Arriving back at Norfolk on [[10 November]], she again joined Task Group Alfa for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) training until February 1963. She then participated in operation "Springboard" in the Caribbean. In July, ''Sea Leopard'' rejoined Task Group Alfa, until entering Norfolk Naval Shipyard on [[16 December]] for an overhaul. In October 1964, after refresher training out of [[New London, Connecticut]], the submarine returned to Norfolk to resume normal duties as a unit of SubRon 6, providing ASW services to units of the [[US 2nd Fleet|Second Fleet]].
In March 1965, she joined Task Group Alfa, deploying to the Mediterranean and then returning to the Atlantic to participate in ASW exercises with that group until [[24 November]] [[1966]]. On [[27 December]], ''Sea Leopard'' entered [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] for overhaul. In July 1967, she conducted type training with submarines {{USS|Sablefish|SS-303|3}} and {{USS|Cubera|SS-347|3}}. The remainder of 1967 was spent in the Norfolk area.
In 1968, ''Sea Leopard'' participated in exercises "Aged Daddy V" and "Rugby Match," and joined the search for the ill-fated submarine {{USS|Scorpion|SSN-589|3}}.
From July through October, she operated with the [[US 6th Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] in the Mediterranean, and upon her return, she remained at Norfolk for the rest of the year.
On [[2 June]] [[1969]], ''Sea Leopard'' deployed on a special operation to the North Atlantic, returning to Norfolk on [[15 August]] to operate in that area until entering [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] on [[17 January]] [[1970]] for a six-month overhaul. In October, she participated in operation "Eyebolt," and then remained at Norfolk until getting underway early in January 1971 to participate in operation "Springboard" in January and February. From [[18 May]] to [[2 September]], ''Sea Leopard'' was deployed to the Mediterranean; and, following her return to Norfolk, she operated in that area for the remainder of her naval service.
''Sea Leopard'' was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on [[27 March]] [[1973]] and transferred to [[Brazil]], where she was commissioned into the ''[[Marinha do Brasil]]'' as
[[Brazilian submarine Bahia (S-12)|''Bahia'' (S-12)]].
She inherited both her name and hull number from an earlier ''Bahia'', [[USS Plaice (SS-390)|ex-USS ''Plaice'' (SS-390)]], which the Brazilians converted into a museum ship in 1972. This later ''Bahia'' served as an active duty submarine in the Brazilian Navy until 1993 when she was relegated to dockside training duties.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s8/sea_leopard.htm}}
{{Tench_class_submarine}}
[[Category:Tench class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Submarines of Brazil]]