USS Sea Leopard

History
United States
Name	USS Sea Leopard (SS-483)
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down	7 November 1944
Launched	2 March 1945
Commissioned	11 June 1945
Decommissioned	27 March 1973
Stricken	27 March 1973
Fate	Transferred to Brazil, 27 March 1973
Brazil
Name	Bahia (S-12)
Acquired	27 March 1973
Out of service	1993
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1998
General characteristics
Class and type	Tench-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,570 tons (1,595 t) surfaced ; 2,414 tons (2,453 t) submerged ;
Length	311 ft 8 in (95.00 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 2 × low-speed direct-drive Elliott electric motors; two propellers ; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced ; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged ;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged ; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 forward, 4 aft); 28 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;

USS Sea Leopard (SS-483), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the leopard seal. Her keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 7 November 1944. She was launched on 2 March 1945 sponsored by Hon. Margaret Chase Smith, United States Congresswoman from Maine, and commissioned on 11 June 1945.^[7]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 280–282. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–282. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
^ ^a ^b ^c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
^ Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory (Bantam, 1976), index.

History

United States
Name	USS Sea Leopard (SS-483)
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine^[1]
Laid down	7 November 1944^[1]
Launched	2 March 1945^[1]
Commissioned	11 June 1945^[1]
Decommissioned	27 March 1973^[1]
Stricken	27 March 1973^[2]
Fate	Transferred to Brazil, 27 March 1973^[1]
Brazil
Name	Bahia (S-12)
Acquired	27 March 1973
Out of service	1993
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1998
General characteristics
Class and type	Tench-class diesel-electric submarine^[2]
Displacement	1,570 tons (1,595 t) surfaced ^[2] 2,414 tons (2,453 t) submerged ^[2]
Length	311 ft 8 in (95.00 m) ^[2]
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m) ^[2]
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m) maximum ^[2]
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators^[3]^[4] 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries^[5] 2 × low-speed direct-drive Elliott electric motors^[3] two propellers ^[3] 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced^[3] 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged^[3]
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced ^[6] 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged ^[6]
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h) ^[6]
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged ^[6] 75 days on patrol
Test depth	400 ft (120 m) ^[6]
Complement	10 officers, 71 enlisted ^[6]
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 forward, 4 aft) 28 torpedoes^[5] 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun^[5] Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon