USS Grenadier ( SS - 525 ) USS " Grenadier " ( SS - 525 ) , a " Tench " - class submarine , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grenadier , a soft - finned deep sea fish of the " Macrouridae " with a long , tapering body and short , pointed tail family , also known as rattails . The contract to build her was awarded to the Boston Naval Shipyard , and her keel was laid down on 8 February 1944 in Boston , Massachusetts . She was launched on 10 February 1951 sponsored by Mrs . John A . Fitzgerald , wife of the first " Grenadier " ’ s last skipper , and commissioned the same day with Commander Henry G . Reaves , Jr . in command . One of the first Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program ( GUPPY ) submarines , " Grenadier " was equipped with a snorkel to permit indefinite running in an awash condition . " Grenadier " proved the worth of this device during her shakedown . Returning from the Caribbean Sea cruise , the new submarine made the seven - day voyage from Guantanamo Bay to New London , Connecticut , submerged . Almost two years of intensive training exercises out of New London were capped by her first yard overhaul at Philadelphia , extending from 16 December 1952 to 22 April 1953 . In June 1953 " Grenadier " participated in the annual midshipman cruise to Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian ports . Returning to New London via the Caribbean Sea , she then supported ASW exercises during November , as an aircraft carrier task force perfected its antisubmarine operations . " Grenadier " continued training and battle exercises along the New England coast and off the Virginia Capes and in August 1955 cruised to Montreal , Quebec , via the St . Lawrence River . " Grenadier " departed New London 3 January 1956 on the first of several Mediterranean Sea cruises . During a three - month deployment she steamed throughout the Mediterranean and both showed the flag and participated in attack and antisubmarine exercises with various units of the Sixth Fleet . On two subsequent Mediterranean deployments from 8 November 1957 to 27 January 1958 , and from 10 April to 8 August 1962 she operated with the Sixth Fleet to bolster peace keeping operations in that troubled region of the world . Between these cruises , the submarine participated in exercises along the East Coast and was a frequent visitor to Caribbean waters . " Grenadier " operated out of New London until 15 September 1959 , she transferred to Key West , Florida . From there " Grenadier " served more frequently in the Caribbean , and also patrolled and held exercises along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of Florida . While on special antisubmarine exercises in the North Atlantic on the morning of 29 May 1959 , " Grenadier " , in company with a patrol plane , sighted and photographed a Soviet submarine prowling the waters off Iceland . It was the first confirmed sighting of a Soviet submarine in the Atlantic . Cuban Missile Crisis . " Grenadier " again confronted Soviet ships when the Cuban missile crisis threatened nuclear war in October 1962 . In company with , , , and , she formed part of the American fleet that blockaded and quarantined Cuba . After the Soviet offensive missiles were pulled out of Cuba , " Grenadier " was one of several ships dispatched to Cuba in November to assert and confirm the United States ' s rights and position there . " Grenadier " continued patrols and training operations out of Key West . Assigned to SubRon 12 , she participated in exercises along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean . In addition , she has provided valuable aid during the perfecting of advanced sonar and ASW equipment . She distinguished herself in 1966 gathering navigational data and other information in the Caribbean . Fate . " Grenadier " was decommissioned , struck from the Naval Vessel Register and sold to Venezuela on 15 May 1973 . Renamed the ARV " Picua " ( " Barracuda " ) , she served in the Venezuelan Navy until 1990 .