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-five were completed for the United States during, or immediately following WWII, though most never made a war patrol. Of the twenty-five 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 first table below lists the twenty-five completed as Tench class.
Table two lists incomplete vessels, and table three lists the four that were
started as Tench class, but later completed as GUPPY II class submarines. 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. If anyone has a more
current status, please let me know.
| TENCH CLASS FLEET SUBMARINES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | COMMISSONED | DECOMMISSIONED | DISPOSITION |
| USS TENCH (SS-417) | October 6 1944 | May 8 1970 | Scrapped 1976 |
| USS THORNBACK (SS-418) | October 13 1944 | July 1 1971 | Transferred to Turkey 1971, sold 1973 |
| 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 16 1944 | July 1 1972 | Sold to Turkey 1972 |
| USS TORO (SS-422) | December 8 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 CORSAIR (SS-435) | November 8 1946 | February 1 1963 | Scrapped 1963 |
| USS ARGONAUT (SS-475) | January 15 1945 | December 2 1968 | Sold to Canada 1968 Scrapped 1977 |
| USS RUNNER (SS-476) | February 6 1945 | December 15 1971 | Scrapped 1973 |
| USS CONGER (SS-477) | February 14 1945 | July 29 1963 | Scrapped 1964 |
| USS CUTLASS (SS-478) | March 17 1945 | April 12 1973 | Taiwan April 1973 |
| USS DIABLO (SS-479) | March 31 1945 | June1 1964 | Pakistan June 1964 Sunk Dec 4 1971 |
| USS MEDREGAL (SS-480) | April 14 1945 | August 1 1970 | Scrapped 1972 |
| USS REQUIN (SS-481) | April 28 1945 | December 20 1971 | Museum Tampa 1972 Museum Pittsburgh 1990 |
| USS IREX (SS-482) | May 14 1945 | November 17 1969 | Scrapped 1971 |
| USS SEA LEOPARD (SS-483) | June 11 1945 | March 27 1973 | Brazil March 1973 |
| 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 11 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 May 1965 |
| USS SPINAX (SS-489) | September 20 1946 | October 11 1969 | Scrapped 1972 |
| USS AMBERJACK (SS-522) | March 4 1946 | October 17 1973 | Sold to Brazil 1973 |
| INCOMPLETE TENCH CLASS FLEET SUBMARINES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | COMMISSONED | DECOMMISSIONED | DISPOSITION |
| USS UNICORN (SS-436) | Contstruction stopped Jan 30 1946 |
Delivered incomplete Sept 16, 1946 |
Scrapped 1959 |
| USS WALRUS (SS-437) | Contstruction stopped Jan 30 1946 |
Delivered incomplete Oct 2 1946 |
Scrapped 1959 |
| TENCH CLASS COMPLETED AS GUPPY II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | COMMISSONED | DECOMMISSIONED | DISPOSITION |
| USS VOLADOR (SS-490) | October 1 1948 | August 18 1972 | Leased to Italy 1972, sold 1977 |
| USS GRAMPUS (SS-523) | October 26 1949 | May 13 1972 | Sold to Brazil 1977 Scrapped 1981 |
| USS PICKEREL (SS-524) | April 4 1949 | August 18 1972 | Leased to Italy 1972, sold 1977 |
| USS GRENADIER (SS-525) | February 10 1951 | May 15 1973 | Sold to Venezuela 1973 |
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.