1972 to Present Day - REQUIN as a Museum

REQUIN as a Museum - Tampa

REQUIN on the Hillsborough River in 1989

After her decommissioning, REQUIN was towed to St. Petersburg, Florida in February 1969, where she served as a Naval Reserve Training ship. Most of the World War II fleet subs followed similar fates until they were eventually scrapped. REQUIN, though, would continue to serve. In June of 1971, after being stricken from the Navy List, it was decided to transfer REQUIN across the harbor to Tampa, where she would become a tourist attraction.

Opened in 1972, REQUIN would enjoy a fair amount of popularity as a tourist attraction for the next dozen years or so. Fourteen years after becoming a tourist attraction, REQUIN's fate took a turn for the worse when the organization that operated REQUIN folded, due to a lack of money. Although opened again in 1988 for a brief time, REQUIN eventually was abandoned at her berth on the Hillsborough River in Tampa.

REQUIN as a Museum - Pittsburgh to the Rescue

REQUIN on the Hillsborough River in Tampa, before moving to the shipyard

After receiving permission to move the submarine, REQUIN was towed from her location on the Hillsborough River on May 24, 1990 to the Tampa Shipyard, where she would be drydocked. Once in drydock, REQUIN's hull was examined and any repairs which were necessary were completed. In early August 1990, REQUIN was towed from Tampa Shipyard to International Ship Repair in Tampa, where last minute repairs were made. (Photo at left: REQUIN, seen shortly before her tow from the Hillsborough River to the Tampa Shipyard for repairs. Photo courtesy of Mr. Ken Henry)

REQUIN leaving the Tampa Shipyard, August 1990

On August 7, 1990, REQUIN left Tampa under tow and arrived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana three days later. Mounted on four barges, REQUIN began her trip stern first up the Mississippi River on August 11, 1990. After successfully passing through the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, REQUIN arrived at her new home in Pittsburgh on September 4, 1990. (Photo at right: REQUIN leaving the drydock in Tampa. Photo courtesy of Mr. Ken Henry)

	The photos on the left show REQUIN at various points during her last cruise...up the Mississippi River, then the Ohio River to Pittsburgh.

Requin in Pittsburgh

After a month of preparations, REQUIN was formally dedicated as a memorial and the first exhibit of the Carnegie Science Center on October 20, 1990. Today, REQUIN is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Pittsburgh and the western Pennsylvania region. (Photo at right shows REQUIN at her berth on the Ohio River, in front of the Carnegie Science Center)