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.

Construction and commissioning

''Odax''′s keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine, 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.

1940s

After shakedown off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ''Odax'' got underway 19 September 1945 for Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba to provide services to the Fleet Training Group. On 30 October 1945, she departed for 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) submarine and returned to the Portsmouth Navy Yard. Completing conversion in August 1947, the first of the GUPPY submarines, she departed for Key West for extensive research development work.

1950s

In August 1951, ''Odax'' again arrived at the Portsmouth Navy Yard for conversion. The major aspect was the addition of a snorkel and redesignation as a GUPPY II submarine. 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 during Exercise UNITAS. 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

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odax (SS-484)
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