View source for USS Fulton (SP-247)

{{short description|Minesweeper of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Fulton}}
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|Ship image=Fulton 1909 aka USS Fulton (SP-247).jpg
|Ship caption= ''Lackawanna Railroad'' tugboat ''Fulton''
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1917}}
|Ship name=USS ''Fulton''
|Ship namesake=[[Robert Fulton]]
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|Ship builder=[[Staten Island Shipbuilding Company]], [[Port Richmond, Staten Island|Port Richmond]], [[Staten Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
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|Ship completed=1909
|Ship acquired=30 April 1917
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|Ship renamed=USS ''SP-247'' 11 April 1918
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|Ship fate=Returned to owner 12 August 1919
|Ship notes=Operated as [[civilian]] vessel ''Fulton'' 1909-1917 and from 1919
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship type=[[Minesweeper]] / [[tugboat]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|229}}, {{NRT|156}}
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|Ship length={{Convert|93.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{Convert|25.2|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft={{Convert|11.0|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth={{Convert|12.1|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship power={{convert|850|ihp|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=Single [[compound steam engine]], one shaft
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|Ship complement=*7
*18 as mine sweeper
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|Ship armament=single 1-pounder gun
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|Ship notes=steel hull
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The fourth '''USS ''Fulton'' (SP-247)''', later '''USS ''SP-247''''', was a commercial tug built in 1909.{{refn|This ''Fulton'' should not be confused with the [[submarine tender]] {{USS|Fulton|AS-1}}, which was in commission at the same time.|group=Note}} She was commissioned by the [[United States Navy]] and served as a [[minesweeper]] in 1917 in the Third Naval District and returned to her previous owners two years later. She remained in service, latterly as ''Catherine Carroll'', at least into the 1960s.
==Construction and commercial service==
''Fulton'' was built as a steel-hulled [[tug]] in 1909 by the [[Staten Island Shipbuilding Company]] at [[Port Richmond, Staten Island|Port Richmond]] on [[Staten Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]] as Yard Number 489.<ref name="shipbuildinghistory">{{cite web |title=Bethlehem Steel Company, Staten Island NY |url=http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/bethstatenisland.htm |website=shipbuildinghistory.com |access-date=20 August 2018}}</ref> The tug had a length of {{Convert|93.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}, a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{Convert|25.2|ft|m|abbr=on}}, a depth of {{Convert|12.1|ft|m|abbr=on}} and a [[Draft (hull)|draft]] of {{Convert|11.0|ft|m|abbr=on}}. She measured {{GRT|229}} and {{NRT|156}} and was powered by a [[compound steam engine]] of {{convert|850|ihp|abbr=on}} driving a single propeller.<ref name="MVUS 1914">{{cite book |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States |date=1914 |publisher=US Bureau of Customs |location=Washington DC |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6wtBAQAAMAAJ&q=fulton |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="ABS 1933">{{cite book |title=Record |date=1933 |publisher=American Bureau of Shipping |page=183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=APQjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22fulton%22 |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref>
The tug was built for the [[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad|Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Co.]] to tow barges carrying rail cars.<ref name="shipbuildinghistory" /> She was registered at New York, with US [[Official Number]] 207060 and call-sign LBHQ.<ref name="MVUS 1914" /> The vessel was named after [[Robert Fulton]] who was honored in New York City's [[Hudson–Fulton Celebration]] in 1909 on the centenary of his development of practical [[steamship]] technology.
==World War I service==
The U.S. Navy acquired her under charter on 30 April 1917 for service as a Section [[mine sweeper]].<ref name=SDUSN>{{cite book |last=Construction & Repair Bureau (Navy)  |title=Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels |date=November 1, 1918 | location=Washington D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=308–313 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0ZHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA308 }}</ref> After arming with a single [[1-pounder gun#United States|1-pounder gun]], she was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] as USS ''Fulton'' (SP-247) on 22 September with two officers and sixteen men assigned to the Third Naval District.<ref name=SDUSN/><ref>{{cite book |last=Historical Section, Navy Department |year=1920 |title=German Submarine Activities on the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada |location=Washington, D.C. |page=135 |url=https://fas.org/man/eprint/german-subs.pdf |access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref>  On 11 April 1918 her official name was reduced to ''SP-247''.<ref name="NavSource">{{cite web |title=SP-247 |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170247.htm |website=NavSource Online |publisher=NavSource Naval History |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref>
The Navy returned ''Fulton'' to her previous owner on 12 August 1919.<ref name="NavSource" />
==Return to commercial service==
In 1919 ''Fulton'' resumed service with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.<ref name="MVUS 1920">{{cite book |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States |date=1920 |publisher=US Bureau of Customs |location=Washington DC |page=47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NwlBAQAAMAAJ&q=%22fulton%22+%22207060%22 |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref> By 1958 she had been sold to Tug Fulton Corp., New York and renamed ''Catherine Carroll''.<ref name="MVUS 1958">{{cite book |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States |date=1958 |publisher=US Coast Guard |location=Washington DC |pages=106, 716 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMsjAQAAIAAJ&q=%22207060%22&pg=PA995 |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref> The tug continued in service until at least 1964.<ref name="MVUS 1964">{{cite book |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States |date=1964 |publisher=US Coast Guard |location=Washington DC |page=810 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CEGl8Wy1lO4C&q=%22catherine+carroll%22+207060 |access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref>
==Notes==
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==References==
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==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180821133518/http://www.brooklynpix.com/photoframex1.php?photo=/pc/ArchitecturalF207.jpg Photo of tug ''Fulton'' with railcar barge] under the Brooklyn Bridge, East River, New York Harbor - ca. 1952
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[[Category:Minesweepers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War I minesweepers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Staten Island]]
[[Category:1909 ships]]
[[Category:Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad]]