USS Grampus ( SS - 523 ) USS " Grampus " ( SS - 523 ) , a " Tench " - class submarine , was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named for two members of the dolphin family ( Delphinidae ) : " Grampus griseus " , also known as Risso ' s dolphin , and orca , also known as the " Killer Whale . " Her keel was laid down on 8 February 1944 at Boston Navy Yard . She was launched on 16 December 1944 , but World War II ended before she was completed , and she sat idle until construction resumed in 1948 . On 26 October 1949 , she was both christened ( by Charlotte Linné Woodward , wife of Vice Admiral Clark H . Woodward , who also sponsored the previous " Grampus " ) and commissioned , with Commander George F . Sharp in command . Operational History . 1949 - 1966 . With her new snorkel ing equipment , which permitted her to remain submerged for periods far longer than the World War II fleet submarine s , " Grampus " served as a prototype for the GUPPY submarines and also incorporated many features to appear later in nuclear submarines . Attached to SubDiv 61 at Norfolk , Virginia , she participated in a variety of exercises along the East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea , including torpedo and attack exercises , snorkeling tests and demonstrations , and antisubmarine training . " Grampus " also did a great deal of work with the early HUK ( Hunter - Killer ) antisubmarine patrols , now a vital part of American defenses , to whose development she greatly contributed . From 5 January to 2 April 1955 " Grampus " proceeded independently to the Mediterranean Sea , where she " showed the flag " at Algiers , Naples , Barcelona , Malta , Beirut , Monaco , and Gibraltar before returning to Norfolk and her routine of exercises and tests , spaced with regular overhauls at Portsmouth , New Hampshire , and Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . During the late 1950s and early 1960s " Grampus " operated out of Norfolk in the North Atlantic . Under the command of Lieutenant Commander D . A . Kilmer , " Grampus " sailed with Task Force " Alfa " for six weeks prior to 13 February 1964 . On 3 April , she deployed with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea until 3 August . She operated out of the Virginia Capes until entering Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in mid - April 1965 for overhaul . After refresher training and shakedown in the fall , " Grampus " operated along the East Coast engaging primarily in ASW exercises . She departed Norfolk , Virginia , on 13 May 1966 for the eastern Atlantic and Northern European countries to participate in NATO ASW exercises . Back in Norfolk on 30 August , she resumed operations in the Virginia Capes area and Caribbean Sea until sailing 29 December to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , for repairs in the naval shipyard . Shipshape again , she resumed operations with the Atlantic Fleet . 1967 - 1981 ( Decommissioning and service for Brazil ) . " Grampus " was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 May 1972 , and sold under the Security Assistance Program to Brazil , where she became " Rio Grande do Sul " ( S - 11 ) . ( She replaced the previous " Rio Grande do Sul " ( S - 11 ) , ex - " Sand Lance " . ) After six years of service , she was decommissioned on 16 November 1978 and scrapped on 18 June 1981 .