USS Thornback

	Thornback (SS-418) in the Cooper River in Charleston, 1956.
History
United States
Name	USS Thornback
Namesake	Thornback shark
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down	5 April 1944
Launched	7 July 1944
Commissioned	13 October 1944
Decommissioned	6 April 1946
Recommissioned	2 October 1953
Decommissioned	1 July 1971
Stricken	1 August 1973
Identification	Hull number SS-418
Fate	Transferred to Turkey, 1 July 1971, sold to Turkey 1 August 1973
Turkey
Name	TCG Uluçalireis (S 338)
Acquired	1 July 1971
Out of service	2000
Fate	Museum submarine at Çanakkale Naval Museum
General characteristics
Class & type	Tench-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,570 tons (1,595 t) surfaced; 2,416 tons (2,455 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 8 in (95.00 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 2 × low-speed direct-drive General Electric electric motors; two propellers ; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; (6 forward, 4 aft); 28 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;
General characteristics (Guppy IIA)
Displacement	1,848 tons (1,878 t) surfaced; 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged;
Length	307 ft (93.6 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.3 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Snorkel added; One diesel engine and generator removed; Batteries upgraded to Sargo II;
Speed	Surfaced:; 17.0 knots (31.5 km/h) maximum; 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h) cruising; Submerged:; 14.1 knots (26.1 km/h) for ½ hour; 8.0 knots (14.8 km/h) snorkeling; 3.0 knots (5.6 km/h) cruising;
Armament	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; (six forward, four aft); all guns removed;

USS Thornback (hull number SS-418) is a Tench-class submarine, the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the thornback, a slender member of the shark family with a long pointed snout and a sharp spine at the end of each dorsal fin, native to northern Atlantic waters ranging from the temperate to the Arctic.

Her keel was laid down on 5 April 1944 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 7 July 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Peter K. Fischler, and commissioned on 13 October 1944 with Commander Ernest P. Abrahamson in command.

Struck from the U.S. Navy's register in 1973, Thornback was transferred to the Turkish Naval Forces and renamed TCG Uluçalireis (S 338), serving until 2000. She is now a museum ship at the Çanakkale Naval Museum.