 Greenfish (SS-351) c. 1960s with the three distinctive shark-fin domes of thePUFFS sonar. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSGreenfish |
| Builder | Electric Boat Company,Groton, Connecticut[1] |
| Laid down | 29 June 1944[1] |
| Launched | 21 December 1945[1] |
| Commissioned | 7 June 1946[1] |
| Decommissioned | 29 October 1973[1] |
| Stricken | 29 October 1973[2] |
| Fate | Transferred toBrazil, 19 December 1973[1] |
 Brazil | |
| Name | Amazonas |
| Acquired | 19 December 1973 |
| Stricken | 15 October 1992 |
| Identification | S-16 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 2001 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Balao-classdiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2] |
| Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
| Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
| Range | 11,000nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[3] |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m)[3] |
| Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[3] |
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics (Guppy II) | |
| Class & type | none |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 307 ft (94 m)[6] |
| Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[6] |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m)[6] |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 15,000 nmi (28,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h)[6] |
| Endurance | 48 hours at 4 knots (5 mph; 7 km/h) submerged[6] |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics (Guppy III) | |
| Class & type | none |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 321 ft (98 m)[6] |
| Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[6] |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m)[6] |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 15,900 nmi (29,400 km) surfaced at 8.5 knots (10 mph; 16 km/h)[6] |
| Endurance | 36 hours at 3 knots (3 mph; 6 km/h) submerged[6] |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors & processing systems | |
USSGreenfish (SS-351) was aBalao-classsubmarine of theUnited States Navy. It was named for thegreenfish.
Greenfish (SS-351) was launched by theElectric Boat Co.,Groton, Connecticut, 21 December 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas J. Doyle; and commissioned 7 June 1946.
Greenfish's shakedown cruise 22 July to 13 September 1946, took her toBarranquilla,Colombia; theCanal Zone;Callao,Peru; andSt. Thomas,Virgin Islands. Exercises out ofNew London and inChesapeake Bay carried her through the year, and the early months of 1947 foundGreenfish back in theCaribbean for fleet exercises. On 11 February 1947 she effected one of the first transfers of personnel from anaircraft carrier,Franklin D. Roosevelt, to a submarine byhelicopter.
%2c_20_November_1947_(80-G-704673).jpg)
Various exercises along the American coast and in the Caribbean occupiedGreenfish until 8 January 1948, when she entered the Electric Boat Co. yards for aGUPPY II conversion. This included the installation ofsnorkeling equipment onGreenfish, enabling her to run herdiesel engines while submerged, which required the enlargement of her "sail". In addition, more batteries were installed to increase her submerged speed and permit the ship to remain completely submerged for longer periods.
Returning to New London 21 August 1948,Greenfish sailed on her "second" shakedown cruise 1 September, with Rear AdmiralJames J. Fife, Commander, Submarine Force,Atlantic Fleet, aboard. She transited thePanama Canal 9 September and engaged in exercises atBalboa before returning to New London 24 September.
The new GUPPY submarine was attached to thePacific Fleet, and sailed forPearl Harbor 23 October. She reached her new home 25 November 1948. With the exception ofASW and harbor defense exercises inPuget Sound in 1950 and a subsequentMare Island overhaul,Greenfish operated out of Pearl Harbor on local exercises through 1951.
Departing Pearl Harbor 15 November 1951,Greenfish sailed toYokosuka,Japan, forKorean War duty. After a patrol 31 January to 1 March 1952, She participated in exercises atOkinawa and then returned toHawaii 2 June. Local and special operations filled her time until 5 November 1954, when she entered thePearl Harbor Shipyard for another modernization overhaul.
Greenfish, overhaul completed 6 July 1955, sailed for deployment with the7th Fleet 15 September and reached Yokosuka 29 September. From 19 October to 15 November she engaged in special operations, and then embarked on a tour ofSoutheast Asia. Ports visited byGreenfish during her 2-month cruise includedManila,Singapore,Rangoon, where she was the first submarine ever to visit and was inspected byBurmese Prime MinisterU Nu, andHong Kong. After further exercises off Okinawa and Yokosuka,Greenfish returned to Pearl Harbor 13 March 1956.
The following 5 years fell into a pattern for Greenfish—local operations out of Pearl Harbor,special operations, exercises along the American coast, and periodic overhauls.Greenfish entered Pearl Harbor Shipyard 15 December 1960 for a FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization) overhaul and extensive conversion to aGUPPY III class ship. This included cuttingGreenfish in half and adding a 15-foot (5 m) section of hull to permit more batteries and other equipment.
Conversion completed,Greenfish departed 28 July 1961 for shakedown, operations at Pearl Harbor, and in December sailed to serve with the 7th Fleet. In addition to special operations, the submarine participated in various fleet and ASW exercises and visited several ports, including Hong Kong, Manila, and Okinawa. Returning to Pearl Harbor June 1962,Greenfish engaged in local operations until October, when theCuban Missile Crisis sent her toJapan to strengthen the 7th Fleet. Upon return to Hawaii December 1962, she underwent a brief overhaul and then resumed her peace time schedule of local and special operations interspersed with training exercises.
Based at Pearl Harbor, she participated in various ASW exercises while maintaining the high tempo of training and readiness for her crew. From 30 March 1964 to 4 September she underwent overhaul; and, after a cruise to the Pacific Coast and back,Greenfish departed for the Far East 27 January 1965. She arrived Japan early in February and during the next 4 months operated with the 7th Fleet in waters from Japan to thePhilippines. She returned to Pearl Harbor 1 August, continued type training into 1966, and deployed once again to the Western Pacific 1 February 1966. She completed her duty with the 7th Fleet 1 July and returned to Hawaii later that month to resume readiness exercises out of Pearl Harbor. Into 1967 she continued to serve in the Pacific Fleet's submarine force. In 1970 she underwent a yard overhaul at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, CA. She then underwent weapons alignment in Bangor, WA. Greenfish Transited the Panama Canal and proceeded to Sub base New London. She made a Med cruise and North Atlantic cruise in 1971 and a springboard exercise in 1972.
Greenfish was decommissioned, struck from the USNaval Register 29 October 1973, and transferred (sold) under terms of the Security Assistance Program toBrazil, 19 December 1973, where she was renamedAmazonas (S-16), the eighthBrazilian Navy ship to be named for theAmazon River. She was struck 15 October 1992, originally to be transformed into amuseum ship at the centro Histórico da Marinha inRio de Janeiro. However, she was ultimately judged to be in too bad condition, and was scrapped in 2001.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be foundhere andhere.
