View source for USS Irex

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Irex;0848201.jpg|300px|USS Irex (SS-482) underway, 1964.]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1969}}
|Ship name=''Irex''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]], [[Kittery, Maine]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
| last = Friedman
| first = Norman
| title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
| year = 1995
| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
| pages = 285–304
| isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=2 October 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=26 January 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=14 May 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=17 November 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=17 November 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 13 September 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Tench|submarine|0}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
| last = Bauer
| first = K. Jack
|author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| year = 1991
| location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
| pages = 280–282
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,570&nbsp;[[long ton|ton]]s (1,595&nbsp;[[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,414&nbsp;tons (2,453&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|8|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam=&nbsp;{{convert|27|ft|4|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft=&nbsp;{{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-FM-2-E}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch-28-torps}}
}}
|}
'''USS ''Irex'' (SS-482)''', a {{sclass|Tench|submarine}}, was the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[Rainbow runner|irex]], one of the oceanic fishes belonging to the family ''carangidae''.
==Construction and commissioning==
''Irex''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 2 October 1944 by the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]] in [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], [[Maine]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 26 January 1945, sponsored by Mrs. [[Allen J. Ellender]], wife of [[United States Senate|Senator]] Ellender of [[Louisiana]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 14 May 1945.
==Service history==
===1945-1956===
After shakedown in the [[New London, Connecticut]], area, ''Irex'' sailed for the Pacific via the [[Panama Canal]]. While she was in the Canal Zone, the war ended. ''Irex'' was ordered to [[Key West]], Florida, where she joined Submarine Squadron&nbsp;4. She spent the remainder of the year there and at [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] conducting exercises. By December 1946 the Navy had completed plans for the modern telescopic [[Submarine snorkel|snorkel]] (a device to enable diesel-powered submarines to run submerged for long periods of time), and ''Irex'' was ordered to Portsmouth for installation and test of this equipment. She spent July 1947 to February 1948 evaluating her new apparatus and joined Submarine Squadron&nbsp;8 at [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London]] as the U.S. Navy's first operational snorkel submarine.
For the next three years ''Irex'' trained out of New London and off the Virginia Capes. In May 1951 she was assigned patrol duty in the North Atlantic and in August commenced operations out of Key West and [[Cuba]]. Returning to New London in the fall, ''Irex'' continued her important training out of New England and in the Caribbean Sea until 26 October 1953 when she sailed for the Mediterranean Sea to join the [[United States Sixth Fleet|Sixth Fleet]]. Returning to New London 3 February 1954 ''Irex'' resumed her operations along the East Coast and in the Caribbean for the next two years.
''Irex'' again deployed in 1956 to the Mediterranean with units of the Sixth Fleet. In the developing Middle East [[Suez Crisis|crisis]] that culminated in the nationalization of the [[Suez Canal]] in July 1956, and armed conflict between Egypt and the forces of France, Israel, and the United Kingdom, U.S. Naval forces acted early to support America's policy. In February, patrols in the Red Sea and along the Israeli-Egyptian border were established as a means of expressing American interest in the peaceful outcome of the crisis. Returning to New London, she resumed her operations and also served as training ship for submarine students.
===1957-1971===
During early 1957 ''Irex'' participated in fleet exercises and served as [[training ship|training boat]]. In July she entered [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] where she was fitted out with a new type plastic sail. The plastic sail, which replaced the World War II [[conning tower]], was lighter in weight, higher, and acted as a stabilizer. With the exception of one tour to the Mediterranean (13 September – 20 December 1958) and training cruises to [[Bermuda]] and [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], ''Irex'' continued her operations out of New London for the next year and a half. In early 1960 she took part in fleet exercises in the North Atlantic before returning home 3 March. After operations out of New London, and a training cruise to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] ''Irex'' deployed 1 August 1961 for submarine warfare training with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. She returned to New London in November, ranging south to Bermuda and north to [[New York City]] and [[Boston]], Massachusetts, as she trained reservists and men of the New London Submarine School. She based winter operations January to March 1963 from [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Virgin Islands]], then was overhauled in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard before resuming training at New London. In October 1964 she again sailed for the Mediterranean, taking time out during this Sixth Fleet tour to transit Suez Canal for [[CENTO]] exercises in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. She returned home mid-January 1965 to aid in the development of antisubmarine warfare tactics, joined U.S.-Canadian warfare exercises reaching northward to [[Nova Scotia]], then returned home to New London in November 1965 and continued local training duties into 1967. ''Irex'' was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 17 November 1969 and sold for scrap and [[Ship breaking|broken up]] on 13 September 1971.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS |http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/i/irex.html |http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss482.htm}}
* {{navsource|08/08482|Irex (SS-482)}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.uss-irex.info/  ''Irex'' veterans' website]
{{Tench class submarine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irex (SS-482)}}
[[Category:Tench-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:1945 ships]]