The submarines of the Tench class were an improvement over the previous Gato and Balao classes due to better interior machinery and ballast tank arrangements. Twenty-nine were completed for the United States during, or immediately following WWII, though most never made a war patrol. Of the twenty-nine completed, only two, TORSK and REQUIN, still exist within the United States. Several were sold to foreign countries and may (though not likely) still be in limited service.
The table below lists the data for the Tench class boats. Dates
for the first commissioning and final decommissioning are listed. Many of the
class were decommissioned and recommissioned one or more times during their service
lives, but this has been omitted to save space. Final dispositions are as listed in
The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy, by John D. Alden., and from info at
http://www.navsource.org. If anyone has a more
current status, please let me know.
| TENCH CLASS FLEET SUBMARINES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | COMMISSIONED | DECOMMISSIONED | DISPOSITION |
| USS TENCH (SS-417) | October 6 1944 | May 8 1970 | Transferred to Peru 1973, Scrapped 1976 |
| USS THORNBACK (SS-418) | October 13 1944 | July 1 1971 | Transferred to Turkey 1971, Museum 2003 |
| USS TIGRONE (SS-419) | October 25 1944 | June 27 1975 | Sunk as torpedo test target, Oct 25 1976 |
| USS TIRANTE (SS-420) | November 6 1944 | October 1 1973 | Scrapped 1974 |
| USS TRUTTA (SS-421) | November 14 1944 | July 1 1972 | Sold to Turkey 1972, Final Fate Unknown |
| USS TORO (SS-422) | December 6 1944 | March 11 1963 | Scrapped 1965 |
| USS TORSK (SS-423) | December 16 1944 | March 4, 1968 | Naval Reserve Trainer, Washington, DC 1968-71 Museum in Baltimore, MD 1972 - Present |
| USS QUILLBACK (SS-424) | December 29 1944 | March 23 1973 | Scrapped 1974 |
| USS TURBOT (SS-427) | Launched Incomplete | Incomplete | Test Hulk, Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Annapolis, MD. Scrapped 1993 |
| USS ULUA (SS-428) | Launched Incomplete, January 1946 | Incomplete | Test Hulk, Scrapped 1958 |
| USS CORSAIR (SS-435) | November 8 1946 | February 1 1963 | Scrapped 1963 |
| USS UNICORN (SS-436) | Construction stopped Jan 30 1946 |
Delivered incomplete Sept 3, 1946 |
Scrapped 1959 |
| USS WALRUS (SS-437) | Construction stopped Jan 30 1946 |
Delivered incomplete Oct 2 1946 |
Scrapped 1959 |
| USS ARGONAUT (SS-475) | January 15 1945 | December 2 1968 | Sold to Canada 1968 Scrapped 1977 |
| USS RUNNER (SS-476) | February 6 1945 | January 25, 1969 | Naval Reserve Trainer, Chicago, IL 1969-71 - Scrapped 1973 |
| USS CONGER (SS-477) | February 14 1945 | July 29 1963 | Scrapped 1964 |
| USS CUTLASS (SS-478) | March 17 1945 | December 15, 1971 | Sold to Taiwan April,1973. Still in service as of 2006 |
| USS DIABLO (SS-479) | March 31 1945 | June1 1964 | Sold to Pakistan June, 1964 Lost Dec 4 1971 |
| USS MEDREGAL (SS-480) | April 14 1945 | August 1 1970 | Scrapped 1972 |
| USS REQUIN (SS-481) | April 28 1945 | December 3 1971 | Naval Reserve Trainer, Tampa, FL 1968-71. Museum Tampa, FL 1972 Museum Pittsburgh, PA 1990 |
| USS IREX (SS-482) | May 14 1945 | November 17 1969 | Scrapped 1971 |
| USS SEA LEOPARD (SS-483) | June 11 1945 | March 27 1973 | Sold to Brazil March 1973, Scrapped 1998 |
| USS ODAX (SS-484) | July 11 1945 | July 8 1972 | Brazil July 1972 Scrapped 1981 |
| USS SIRAGO (SS-485) | August 13 1945 | June 1 1972 | Scrapped 1973 |
| USS POMODON (SS-486) | September 9 1945 | August 1 1970 | Scrapped 1972 |
| USS REMORA (SS-487) | January 3 1946 | October 29 1973 | Sold to Greece Oct 1973, Scrapped 1999 |
| USS SARDA (SS-488) | April 19 1946 | June 1 1964 | Scrapped 1971 |
| USS SPINAX (SS-489) | September 20 1946 | October 11 1969 | Scrapped 1972 |
| USS VOLADOR (SS-490) | October 1, 1948 | August 18, 1972 | Sold to Italy 1972, Final Fate Unknown |
| USS AMBERJACK (SS-522) | March 4 1946 | October 17 1973 | Sold to Brazil 1973 |
| USS GRAMPUS (SS-523) | October 26 1949 | May 13 1972 | Sold to Brazil 1972 Scrapped 1981 |
| USS PICKEREL (SS-524) | April 4 1949 | August 18 1972 | Sold to Italy 1972, Scrapped 1981 |
| USS GRENADIER (SS-525) | February 10 1951 | May 15 1973 | Sold to Venezuela 1973, Scrapped 1981 |
The charts above were compiled using information from The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy, by John D. Alden. Published by the Naval Institute Press, 1988 edition, and online from http://www.navsource.org