- USS Fulton (AS-11)
The USS "Fulton" (AS-11) was a sclass|Fulton|submarine tender, launched
27 December 1940 byMare Island Navy Yard and sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Sutcliffe, great-granddaughter ofRobert Fulton . "Fulton" was commissioned12 September 1941 , withCommander A. D. Douglas in command.Underway on her
shakedown cruise out ofSan Diego when theJapan ese attackedPearl Harbor 7 December 1941, "Fulton" was ordered at once toPanama , arriving9 December . During the next month she established advancedseaplane bases in theGulf of Fonseca ,Nicaragua , and in theGalapagos Islands , then returned to San Diego to prepare for Pacific duty. She tended Pacific Fleetsubmarine s at Pearl Harbor from15 March 1942 to8 July , putting to sea during theBattle of Midway . She transported many of the survivors of sunkenaircraft carrier "Yorktown" back to Pearl Harbor, arriving on8 June . She was at Midway until17 October ; and atBrisbane from9 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 from29 October 1943 until17 March 1944 , when she sailed for a west coast overhaul.Returning to Pearl Harbor
13 June 1944 , "Fulton" gave her tender services to submarines there for a month, then at Midway between18 July and8 September , and then atSaipan until25 April 1945 . "Fulton" returned to duty at Pearl Harbor from7 May to9 June , and then sailed forGuam , where she refitted submarines for the last patrols of the war.After a west coast overhaul, "Fulton" served as tender at Pearl Harbor from February through May
1946 , then sailed for Bikini to participate inOperation 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. On18 September 1946 "Fulton" arrived atMare Island Navy Yard , where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve3 April 1947 .Recommissioned
10 April 1951 , "Fulton" sailed 3 weeks later for New London, her home port until she was decommissioned in1991 . Although her primary assignment was as tender forSubmarine Squadron 10 at New London, "Fulton" on occasion relieved the tender "Orion" (AS-18), stationed atNorfolk , and also left New London for exercises from Newfoundland andIceland to theCaribbean . She first crossed the Atlantic in the fall of1957 forOperation Natoflex , visiting Rothesay,Scotland , and Portland,England , before returning to New London. A heightening of her responsibility came1 April 1958 , when three nuclear submarines were assigned to her squadron. In August, "Fulton" sailed toNew York City for the celebration of the arrival of "Nautilus" (SSN-571) from her historic submerged passage under theNorth Pole . From August 1959 to January 1960 "Fulton" underwent a modernization overhaul at thePhiladelphia 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.In 1972, "Fulton" made a five month deployment to the
Mediterranean . The "Fulton"'s mission was to prepare for full time use an advance refit site for nuclear poweredfast attack submarine s. This was the first deployment of aWorld War II vintage submarine tender to the Mediterranean since World War II. After a shipyard overhaul in1976 , "Fulton" returned to New London to continue to support Atlantic Fleet Submarines. "Fulton" was modernized in1983 -1984 during an extensive overhaul conducted atElectric Boat inGroton, Connecticut andGeneral Dynamics ,Quincy, Massachusetts . In January1985 , "Fulton" made a 4 month deployment to the Mediterranean where she provided maintenance for theUS Sixth Fleet submarines inLa Maddalena ,Italy ."Fulton" made cruises to
Puerto Rico in January1986 andBermuda in March1987 . During the period13 January to12 March 1988 , "Fulton" completed a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability atNorfolk Shipbuilding Company ,Norfolk, Virginia . "Fulton" returned to State Pier and continued to support Squadron 10 submarines until her decommissioning in1991 .In 1988 Submarine Squadron 10, of which "Fulton" was the
flagship , included the USS|Jack|SSN-605|3, USS|Tinosa|SSN-606|3, USS|Whale|SSN-638|3, USS|Greenling|SSN-614|3, USS|Gato|SSN-615|3, USS|Pargo|SSN-650|3, USS|Trepang|SSN-674|3, USS|Billfish|SSN-676|3 and the Torpedo Retriever TWR-681.In September 1991 Submarine Squadron 10 was disbanded and the "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 USS|Constitution. Fact|date=February 2008
References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f5/fulton-iv.htm
* [http://ussfulton.org/history.html USS Fulton.org]
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