USS Odax (SS-484)

USS Odax (SS-484), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for odax, a brilliantly colored, red and green fish belonging to the family Scaridae, the parrot fishes. Her keel was laid down by Portsmouth Navy Yard on 4 December 1944. She was launched on 10 April 1945 sponsored by Mrs. Luise Fogarty, wife of Rhode Island Congressman John E. Fogarty, and commissioned on 11 July 1945 with Commander F. D. Walker, Jr. in command.

History
United States
Name:	USS Odax (SS-484)
Builder:	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down:	4 December 1944[1]
Launched:	10 April 1945[1]
Commissioned:	11 July 1945[1]
Decommissioned:	8 July 1972[1]
Stricken:	8 July 1972[2]
Fate:	Transferred to Brazil, 8 July 1972[1]
History
Brazil
Name:	Rio de Janeiro (S-13)
Acquired:	8 July 1972
Decommissioned:	1978
Fate:	Broken up, 1981
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
General characteristics (Guppy II)
Displacement:	1,870 tons (1,900 t) surfaced[7] 2,440 tons (2,480 t) submerged[7]
Length:	307 ft (93.6 m)[8]
Beam:	27 ft 4 in (7.4 m)[8]
Draft:	17 ft (5.2 m)[8]
Propulsion:	Snorkel added[7] Batteries upgraded to GUPPY type, capacity expanded to 504 cells (1 × 184 cell, 1 × 68 cell, and 2 × 126 cell batteries)[7]
Speed:	Surfaced: 18.0 knots (33.3 km/h) maximum 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h) cruising Submerged: 16.0 knots (29.6 km/h) for ½ hour 9.0 knots (16.7 km/h) snorkeling 3.5 knots (6.5 km/h) cruising[7]
Range:	15,000 nm (28,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (20 km/h)[8]
Endurance:	48 hours at 4 knots (7 km/h) submerged[8]
Complement:	9–10 officers 5 petty officers 70 enlisted men[8]
Sensors and processing systems:	WFA active sonar JT passive sonar Mk 106 torpedo fire control system[8]
Armament:	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes  (six forward, four aft)[8] all guns removed[7]

1940s

After shakedown off Portsmouth, Odax got underway 19 September 1945 for Guantanamo Bay to provide services to the Fleet Training Group. On 30 October, she sailed to Key West, Florida, for duty with the Fleet Sonar School and conducted operational training until September 1946.

In September 1946, as part of the Bureau of Ships post-war investigation of the high speed submarine, Odax was selected for conversion to a Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program (GUPPY) and returned to Portsmouth. Completing conversion in August 1947, first of the GUPPY submarines, she sailed to Key West for extensive research development work.

1950s

In August 1951, Odax again sailed to Portsmouth for conversion. The major aspect was the addition of a snorkel and redesignation as a GUPPY II. She first put her snorkel to tactical use in a large scale convoy exercise in the spring of 1952.

From 1952 through 1955, Odax provided services to the Operational Development Force and Fleet Sonar School in Key West and to the Fleet Training Group in Guantanamo Bay. During 1956 she received new equipment of improved design at the Charleston Naval Shipyard and departed in December, bound for the North Atlantic, to operate with the British Fleet. Subsequent operations in 1957 included services to the Operational Development Force, training submariners in the latest tactics of undersea warfare.

In September 1958, Odax deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for a tour with the Sixth Fleet. During this deployment she transited the Suez Canal to participate in a Baghdad Pact exercise in the Arabian Sea.

After her return home, Odax changed home port transferring to Charleston, South Carolina, in February 1959. She sailed from here early in 1960 to return to the North Atlantic for Barrier Patrol.

1960s

Odax departed Charleston, South Carolina in August 1960 for South America to conduct exercises with naval units of various South American countries. In December, she returned to Charleston to resume local operations.

Between 1961 and 1964, Odax conducted training operations out of Charleston with interim periods for overhaul and modernization.

In August 1964, she deployed again to South America to participate in combined operations while circumnavigating the continent, returning in December. From 1965 to 1967 she operated out of Charleston.

In May 1967, Odax began a deployment in Northern Europe. Upon her return to Charleston she was awarded the coveted Battle Efficiency "E" for Fiscal Year 1967. She resumed coastal operations in October 1967.

In October and November 1967, Odax provided services to the Fleet Training Group in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a period of 8 weeks.

In February 1968, Odax entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for overhaul and upon completion in September operated in the Charleston area.

In January 1969, Odax participated in fleet operations in the Caribbean.

In March 1969, Odax deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for NATO operations.

In August 1969, Odax conducted training operations in the local Charleston area.

1970s and transfer to Brazilian Navy

Odax off Norway, in 1970.

In May 1970, Odax departed Charleston for northern Europe for a five-month NATO exercise. During this deployment, while submerged in the Norwegian Sea, Odax learned that her home port had been changed to Key West, Florida.

In December 1970, Odax was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her participation in the NATO operations in Northern Europe. The ship was also awarded her second Battle Efficiency "E".

During 1971, Odax participated in extensive tests of the new SQS-26 sonar system. Early in the year she took time out to visit New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and to submerge in the Mississippi River for publicity purposes.

In August 1971, Odax went to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to provide services for US and NATO training exercises.

In February 1972, Odax again provided publicity services by submerging in the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

In March and April 1972, in her last military duty, Odax provided NATO services during a seven-week unsupported deployment to the Eastern Atlantic.

On 8 July 1972, Odax was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and transferred to Brazil. Commissioned into the Marinha do Brasil as Rio de Janeiro (S-13), she was decommissioned in 1978 and broken up in 1981.

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
5. U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
6. U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
7. Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 11–43. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.
8. U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.