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USS Fulton (AS-11)
Encyclopedia
USS Fulton (AS-11) was the leader of her class of seven submarine tender
s, launched on 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, with Commander
A. D. Douglas in command.
out of San Diego when the Japan
ese attacked Pearl Harbor
on 7 December 1941, Fulton was ordered at once to Panama
, arriving on 9 December. During the next month, she established advanced seaplane
bases in the Gulf of Fonseca
, Nicaragua
, and in the Galapagos Islands
, then returned to San Diego to prepare for Pacific duty. She tended Pacific Fleet
submarine
s at Pearl Harbor from 15 March-8 July 1942, putting to sea during the Battle of Midway
. She transported many of the survivors of the sunken aircraft carrier
back to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 8 June. She was at Midway until 17 October; and at Brisbane
from 9 November. There she established a submarine base and rest camp, and in addition to refitting submarines between their war patrols, acted as tender to other types of ships. Milne Bay
, New Guinea
was her station from 29 October 1943-17 March 1944, when she sailed for a west coast
overhaul.
Returning to Pearl Harbor on 13 June 1944, Fulton gave her services to submarines there for a month, then at Midway from 18 July-8 September, and then at Saipan
until 25 April 1945. She returned to duty at Pearl Harbor from 7 May-9 June, and then sailed for Guam
, where she refitted submarines for the last patrols of the war.
to participate in Operation Crossroads
—atomic weapons tests
in the Marshalls
—that summer. In addition to caring for the six submarines assigned to the project, she acted as repair ship for other vessels in the task force. On 18 September 1946, she arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 3 April 1947.
Recommissioned on 10 April 1951, Fulton sailed three weeks later for New London, her home port until she was decommissioned in 1991. Although her primary assignment was as tender for Submarine Squadron 10 (SubRon 10) at New London, she occasionally relieved fellow tender at Norfolk
, and also left New London for exercises from Newfoundland
and Iceland
to the Caribbean
. She first crossed the Atlantic in the fall of 1957 for Operation Natoflex, visiting Rothesay
, Scotland
, and Portland
, England
, before returning to New London. A heightening of her responsibility came on 1 April 1958, when three nuclear submarines were assigned to her squadron. In August, she sailed to New York City
for the celebration of the arrival of from her historic submerged passage under the North Pole
. From August 1959-January 1960, the tender underwent a modernization overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
in order to be able to service both nuclear and conventional submarines, whether at home or overseas, making her the world's first nuclear support tender.
. Her mission was to prepare for full time use as an advance refit site for nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. This was the first deployment of a World War II
-vintage submarine tender to the Mediterranean since World War II.
After a shipyard overhaul in 1976, Fulton returned to New London to continue to support Atlantic Fleet Submarines. She was modernized in 1983-1984 during an extensive overhaul conducted at Electric Boat
in Groton, Connecticut
and General Dynamics
, Quincy, Massachusetts
. In January 1985, she made a four-month deployment to the Mediterranean where she provided maintenance for the 6th Fleet submarines in La Maddalena
, Italy
.
The tender made cruises to Puerto Rico
in January 1986 and Bermuda
in March 1987. From 13 January-12 March 1988, she completed a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability at Norfolk Shipbuilding Company, Norfolk, Virginia
. She returned to State Pier and continued to support SubRon 10 submarines until her decommissioning in 1991.
In 1988, SubRon 10—of which Fulton was the flagship
—included , , , , , , , and the Torpedo Retriever "Labrador" TWR-681.
In September 1991, SubRon 10 was disbanded and Fulton was decommissioned at her berth in New London, Connecticut. At this time, she was the second oldest commissioned ship in the Navy exceeded only by the .
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
s, launched on 27 December 1940 by Mare Island Navy Yard and sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Sutcliffe, great-granddaughter of Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
. Fulton was commissioned on 12 September 1941, with Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
A. D. Douglas in command.
World War II
Underway on her shakedown cruiseShakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
out of San Diego when the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese attacked Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on 7 December 1941, Fulton was ordered at once to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, arriving on 9 December. During the next month, she established advanced seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
bases in the Gulf of Fonseca
Gulf of Fonseca
The Gulf of Fonseca , part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.-History:Fonseca Bay was discovered in 1522 by Gil Gonzalez de Avila, and named by him after his patron, Archbishop Juan Fonseca, the implacable enemy of Columbus.In 1849, E. G...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and in the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, then returned to San Diego to prepare for Pacific duty. She tended Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s at Pearl Harbor from 15 March-8 July 1942, putting to sea during the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
. She transported many of the survivors of the sunken aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
back to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 8 June. She was at Midway until 17 October; and at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
from 9 November. There she established a submarine base and rest camp, and in addition to refitting submarines between their war patrols, acted as tender to other types of ships. Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
was her station from 29 October 1943-17 March 1944, when she sailed for a west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
overhaul.
Returning to Pearl Harbor on 13 June 1944, Fulton gave her services to submarines there for a month, then at Midway from 18 July-8 September, and then at Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
until 25 April 1945. She returned to duty at Pearl Harbor from 7 May-9 June, and then sailed for Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, where she refitted submarines for the last patrols of the war.
1946-1947
After a west coast overhaul, Fulton served as tender at Pearl Harbor from February-May 1946, then sailed for Bikini AtollBikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
to participate in Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
—atomic weapons tests
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
in the Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
—that summer. In addition to caring for the six submarines assigned to the project, she acted as repair ship for other vessels in the task force. On 18 September 1946, she arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 3 April 1947.
1951-1960
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, and also left New London for exercises from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. She first crossed the Atlantic in the fall of 1957 for Operation Natoflex, visiting Rothesay
Rothesay, Argyll and Bute
The town of Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, before returning to New London. A heightening of her responsibility came on 1 April 1958, when three nuclear submarines were assigned to her squadron. In August, she sailed to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for the celebration of the arrival of from her historic submerged passage under the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. From August 1959-January 1960, the tender underwent a modernization overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
in order to be able to service both nuclear and conventional submarines, whether at home or overseas, making her the world's first nuclear support tender.
1972-1991
In 1972, Fulton made a five-month deployment to the MediterraneanMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Her mission was to prepare for full time use as an advance refit site for nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. This was the first deployment of a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-vintage submarine tender to the Mediterranean since World War II.
After a shipyard overhaul in 1976, Fulton returned to New London to continue to support Atlantic Fleet Submarines. She was modernized in 1983-1984 during an extensive overhaul conducted at Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
and General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
, Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. In January 1985, she made a four-month deployment to the Mediterranean where she provided maintenance for the 6th Fleet submarines in La Maddalena
La Maddalena
La Maddalena is a town and comune located on the island with the same name, in northern Sardinia, part of the province of Olbia-Tempio, Italy.-The town:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in January 1986 and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in March 1987. From 13 January-12 March 1988, she completed a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability at Norfolk Shipbuilding Company, Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. She returned to State Pier and continued to support SubRon 10 submarines until her decommissioning in 1991.
In 1988, SubRon 10—of which Fulton was the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
—included , , , , , , , and the Torpedo Retriever "Labrador" TWR-681.
In September 1991, SubRon 10 was disbanded and Fulton was decommissioned at her berth in New London, Connecticut. At this time, she was the second oldest commissioned ship in the Navy exceeded only by the .