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WHEREAS, the USS Requin (SS 481) submarine was commissioned on April 28, 1945 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire and was one of 25 Tench-class submarines actually built and one of only two surviving; and,
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WHEREAS, although the Requin carried heavier armament than usual, she was never used in battle. On August 15, 1945, the crew of Requin received word that World War II was over, just three days before she was to leave on her first war patrol; and,
WHEREAS, after celebrations marking the end of the war, Requin returned to the United States in late September 1945 to become part of the Atlantic Fleet. In 1946, she converted to the US Navy’s first Radar Picket Submarine and patrolled the East Coast and Northern Atlantic during the Cold War; and,
WHEREAS, in June 1959, Requin transformed to a Fleet Snorkel submarine. She ended her 23 years of service to the US Navy on December 3, 1968, and began her service as a Naval Reserve Training ship in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1969 until taken off the U.S. Navy list in December 1971. She became a tourist attraction in Tampa the following year, but later abandoned due to lack of funding; and,
WHEREAS, in April 1990, Congress passed a bill, introduced by the late Senator John Heinz, to allow Requin’s transfer to the Carnegie Science Center. She arrived in Pittsburgh on September 4, 1990 and was formally dedicated as a memorial and the first exhibit of the Carnegie Science Center on October 20, 1990; and,
WHEREAS, Today, the USS Requin is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Pittsburgh and the western Pennsylvania region; and,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize and celebrate the 78th Birthday of the USS Requin; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare, Friday, April 28, 2023 to be “USS Requin Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.