USS ''Sea Leopard'' (SS-483), a ''Tench''-class submarine, was the only ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

to be named for the

leopard seal The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). It is a top order predator, feeding on a wide range of prey including cep ...

. Her keel was laid down by the

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

on 7 November 1944. She was launched on 2 March 1945 sponsored by Hon. Margaret Chase Smith, United States Congresswoman from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, and commissioned on 11 June 1945.

United States Service

1940s

Following shakedown off the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

coast, ''Sea Leopard'' was ordered to the Pacific War Zone. However, hostilities with Japan ceased before the submarine's departure date; and she remained in the Atlantic. The submarine then proceeded to

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

, and she remained in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

waters through 1946 providing services to the Antisubmarine Development Force. In January 1947, she returned to

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

, for her first shipyard overhaul. Next came training exercises in the Key West area until late 1948, when she entered the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

for a

Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program The Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) was initiated by the United States Navy after World War II to improve the submerged speed, maneuverability, and endurance of its submarines. (The "Y" in the acronym was added for pronouncea ...

(GUPPY) modernization. Upon completion, she was assigned to Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 6 and home ported at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. In November 1949, she joined other units in cold water exercises in the Atlantic. During February and March 1950, the submarine participated in maneuvers in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

1950s

From August through November, she joined the

Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixt ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, visiting ports of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, before returning home. From December 1950 to April 1951 ''Sea Leopard'' was undergoing overhaul at the

. For the next two years, she operated in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and

, participating in fleet training exercises. In 1951 she recovered at sea the remains of Raymond Lewis of Brooklyn, New York, a victim of the FV ''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

'' disaster, which involved an overloaded party fishing boat that sank off the coast of Montauk on 1 September 1951. In September and October 1952, ''Sea Leopard'' participated in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

operation "Emigrant," and then cruised in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

waters, until entering the

Charleston Naval Shipyard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. ...

in December for overhaul. Returning to duty in April 1953, the submarine operated in the vicinity of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in operation "Mariner," before returning to warmer waters in the Caribbean. ''Sea Leopards second deployment to the Mediterranean took place in May and June 1954 and was followed by her participation in

exercise "New Broom II," in which she made successful simulated attacks on NATO convoys. The submarine entered the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

in October for a six-month overhaul. The yard work was followed by her participation in "LantPhibEx," as a member of forces opposing a simulated amphibious assault on the coast of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In February and March 1956, ''Sea Leopard'', along with other units of SubRon 6, set sail for the Caribbean and operation "Springboard." She then returned to Norfolk for local operations until March 1957, when she again joined the

in the Mediterranean. In June, she participated in festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Submarine Force at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, before sailing to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, for an overhaul. Upon its completion in January 1958, ''Sea Leopard'' joined operation "Springboard" in the Caribbean and then returned to Norfolk for local operations. Joining Task Group Alfa, she participated in operations to develop antisubmarine warfare tactics and readiness, until undergoing restricted availability at Charleston Naval Shipyard (August to October 1959) to install a new high capacity battery.Don James ET1(SS)(DV)

1960s

During 1960, ''Sea Leopard'' operated in the Atlantic in training exercises and fleet operations until 23 October, when she entered

for overhaul. Following completion in April 1961, she returned to Norfolk and operated locally until 19 August when she joined Task Force 69 in the Mediterranean to participate in NATO operation "Checkmate" and visit

Rota, Spain The town of Rota is a Spanish municipality located in the Province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Its surface area is 84 km2 and is bordered by the towns of Chipiona, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. It is located near the city of ...

;

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

Naples, Italy Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. On 3 October, ''Sea Leopard'' sailed from the Mediterranean for northern Europe and NATO operation "Devil Spread." Arriving back at Norfolk on 10 November, she again joined Task Group Alfa for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) training until February 1963. She then participated in operation "Springboard" in the Caribbean. Immediately following the loss of Thresher on 10 April 1963, she conducted an at-sea helicopter transfer of a crew member who had left the Thresher just three weeks earlier. In July, ''Sea Leopard'' rejoined Task Group Alfa, until entering Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 16 December for an overhaul. In October 1964, after refresher training out of

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, the submarine returned to Norfolk to resume normal duties as a unit of SubRon 6, providing ASW services to units of the Second Fleet. In March 1965, she joined Task Group Alfa, deploying to the Mediterranean and then returning to the Atlantic to participate in ASW exercises with that group until 24 November 1966. On 27 December, ''Sea Leopard'' entered

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

for overhaul. In July 1967, she conducted type training with submarines and . The remainder of 1967 was spent in the Norfolk area. In 1968, ''Sea Leopard'' participated in exercises "Aged Daddy V" and "Rugby Match," and joined the search for the ill-fated submarine . From July through October, she operated with the

in the Mediterranean, and upon her return, she remained at Norfolk for the rest of the year. On 2 June 1969, ''Sea Leopard'' deployed on a special operation to the North Atlantic, returning to Norfolk on 15 August to operate in that area until entering

on 17 January 1970 for a six-month overhaul. In October, she participated in operation "Eyebolt," and then remained at Norfolk until getting underway early in January 1971 to participate in operation "Springboard" in January and February. From 18 May to 2 September, ''Sea Leopard'' was deployed to the Mediterranean; and, following her return to Norfolk, she was deployed from Key West in the early 1970s.

Brazilian Navy Service

''Sea Leopard'' was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on 27 March 1973 and transferred to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where she was commissioned into the '' Marinha do Brasil'' as ''Bahia'' (S-12). She inherited both her name and hull number from an earlier ''Bahia'', ex-USS ''Plaice'' (SS-390), which the Brazilians converted into a museum ship in 1972. This later ''Bahia'' served as an active duty submarine in the Brazilian Navy until 1993 when she was relegated to dockside training duties. ''Bahia'' was sold for scrap in 1998. Her sail is preserved at the National Maritime Museum in

São Francisco do Sul São Francisco do Sul is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It covers an area of 540 km2 (208 miles2) and had an estimated population of 53,746 in 2020. Location It was founded as a village by the Portuguese in 1658. ...

, Brazil.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Leopard (Ss-483) Tench-class submarines Ships built in Kittery, Maine 1945 ships World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States Tench-class submarines of the Brazilian Navy