User:Dhartung/USS Fulton

Four ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Fulton, in honor of Robert Fulton, who built the first practical steamboat, the Clermont.

The original Fulton, a 20-gun steam battery, essentially a floating fort, was the first steam-powered warship. Built in New York City during the War of 1812, but only saw one day of service, ferrying President James Madison across New York Harbor, and accidentally exploded in 1825. Named Demologos during construction, the death of Fulton prompted the renaming. The ship is also dubbed Fulton the First. It had a central paddle wheel.
The second Fulton was a side-wheel steamer, built under Capt. Matthew Perry, who later modeled his Black Ships partly on the Fulton. It was rebuilt as a warship and saw service in South American and Cuban waters, but was laid up in Pensacola, Florida when the American Civil War broke out. Confederate forces destroyed her in 1861 before a Union recapture of the city. Known as both Fulton the Second and Fulton the Third.
The third Fulton was a submarine tender laid down in 1914 and served until 1934.
The fourth Fulton was also a submarine tender laid down in 1941. She rescued survivors of the Battle of Midway and assisted in the Operation Crossroads atomic test. Between 1946 and 1951 she was in the reserve fleet. From 1951 until decommissioning in 1991, she was a support vessel for nuclear attack submarines including the USS Nautilus, which was named after Fulton's submarine prototype.