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USS Grampus (SS-523) 

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Grampus (SS-523) 

USS Grampus (SS-523) was begun in 1944 but left uncompleted at the end of the war. Construction was resumed in 1948, and Grampus launched 26 October 1949; sponsored by Mrs. Clark H. Woodward, who also sponsored the previous Grampus; and commissioned that same day, Comdr. George F. Sharp in command.

With new "snorkeling equipment," which permitted her to remain submerged for periods far longer than the World War II fleet-class boats, USS Grampus (SS-523) served as a prototype for the post-war "Guppy" class diesel-electric submarines. From 5 January to 2 April 1955 USS Grampus (SS-523) proceeded independently to the Mediterranean, 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 and Philadelphia.

In addition to North Atlantic and Arctic training exercises with Task Group "Alfa" in the late 1950s and early 1960s, USS Grampus (SS-523) conducted a second Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea between 3 April and 3 August 1964. USS Grampus (SS-523) spent the next few years providing training services out of Norfolk, interspersed with an occassional cruise to the West Indies or Europe. Highlights of this period include advanced ASW tactical evaluations, training prospective submarine commanding officers and sailing with the UNITAS Task Force around South America between 24 July and 12 December 1969.

Following two more years of local operations out of Norfolk, USS Grampus (SS-523) was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 13 May 1972, struck from the navy list that same day and sold to the Federal Republic of Brazil.

For a complete history of USS Grampus (SS-523) please see its DANFS page.