USS Requin (SS-481)

USS Requin (SS-481)

USS Requin (SS/SSR/AGSS/IXSS-481) /ˈreɪkwɪn/, a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the requin, a sand shark. Since 1990 it has been a museum ship in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Her keel was laid down on 24 August 1944 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 1 January 1945 sponsored by Mrs. Slade D. Cutter, and commissioned on 28 April 1945 with Commander Slade D. Cutter in command.

Initially, Requin carried heavier armament than usual for a fleet submarine, perhaps because Commander Cutter was one of the most decorated submarine skippers going to sea. She had an additional five-inch/25-caliber deck gun, as well as two 24-tube five-inch (127 mm) rocket launchers, which were intended to be used to provide offshore bombardment during Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Kyūshū and Honshū.