Fulton-class submarine tender

The Fulton class was a class of seven United States Navy submarine tenders. The class took its name from the lead ship, USS Fulton (AS-11), which was commissioned 27 December 1940 by Mare Island Navy Yard and sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Sutcliffe, great-granddaughter of Robert Fulton. Fulton was commissioned on 12 September 1941.^[1] The basic hull and superstructure for this class was the same as the Dixie-class destroyer tenders and Vulcan-class repair ships.

Fulton (AS-11), 1984
Class overview
Builders	Mare Island Navy Yard Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, CA
Operators	US Navy
Built	1939 – 1945
In commission	1941 – 1993
Completed	7
Active	0
Scrapped	7
General characteristics
Type	submarine tender
Displacement	9,250 long tons (9,400 t)
Length	530 ft 7 in (161.72 m)
Beam	73 ft 4 in (22.35 m)
Draft	22 ft 5 in (6.83 m)
Speed	15.4 kn (17.7 mph; 28.5 km/h)
Complement	1,307 officers and enlisted
Armament	4 × 5 in (127 mm) guns
Notes	Stats from Fulton

Ships in class

Ships in class

Ship Name	Hull No.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned/Recommissioned	Decommissioned	Link
Fulton	AS-11	Mare Island Navy Yard	19 July 1939	27 December 1940	12 September 1941	3 April 1947	DANFS, NVR
					10 April 1951	30 September 1991
Sperry	AS-12		1 February 1941	17 December 1941	1 May 1942	30 September 1982	DANFS, NVR
Bushnell	AS-15		23 December 1941	14 September 1942	10 April 1943	30 April 1948	DANFS, NVR
					1 February 1953	30 June 1970
Howard W. Gilmore	AS-16		21 December 1942	16 September 1943	24 May 1944	30 September 1980	DANFS, NVR
Nereus	AS-17		12 October 1943	12 February 1945	27 October 1945	27 October 1971	DANFS, NVR
Orion	AS-18	Moore Dry Dock Company	31 July 1941	24 June 1942	30 September 1943	3 September 1993	DANFS, NVR
Proteus	AS-19		15 September 1941	12 November 1942	31 January 1944	26 September 1947	DANFS, NVR
					8 July 1960	30 September 1992

In 1959-1960, Proteus was converted to a tender for the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines, including the addition of a 13.4 m section amidships. All ships of this class have been decommissioned and scrapped.

See also

• Norwalk Class Cargo Ships

References

1. "Fulton IV". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.

External links

• Submarine tender photo gallery index at NavSource.org