Fulton Shipyard was a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

company in

Antioch, California Antioch is the third-largest city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,291 at the 2020 Unite ...

. The

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

was founded in 1924 by Frank Fulton and Angeline Fulton Fredericks. To support the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

demand for ships, Fulton Shipyard built

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s, and

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

s. The shipyard was located on the

Stockton Channel Stockton Channel (or Stockton Waterfront) is a waterway in California's Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. It runs 2.5 miles from the San Joaquin River- Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel at the Port of Stockton to McLeod Lake in ...

at 701 Fulton Shipyard Rd, Antioch, near Antioch pier and the

Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge is a sensitive sand dune habitat located near the city of Antioch, California on the south shore of the San Joaquin River-Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel. It serves as a refuge for three endangered sp ...

. The site was the former Jarvis Brothers, opened in 1918, then Laurtzen shipyard. In 1977 the site became the California Corporation. The shipyard closed in 1999 and the land is owned by the Fulton Family Trust. Fulton Shipyard was on the

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...

and an

inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...

located more than from the ocean, emptying into

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

. Fulton Shipyard was featured in a 1914 movie called ''The Stolen Yacht'', a short drama film released on November 5, 1914. Frank Fulton and Angelines son James Lloyd Fulton (August 7, 1928 – August 25, 2011) became an operator of a Fulton Shipyard tugboat.

ATR-1 class rescue tug

Former USS ATR-31 in Peruvian Service, Feb 1954

''ATR-1'' class - ATR is the US

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

meaning Auxiliary Tug Rescue. The ''ATR-1'' class was a Type V wooden-hulled rescue tug built by Fulton Shipyard in 1944 and 1945. The ''ATR-1'' tugs serviced World War II in both

Asiatic-Pacific Theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific O ...

and the

European theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Nazi Germany, Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 Sept ...

. The 40 ''ATR-1''-class vessels had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 852 tons light and 1,315 tons fully loaded. They had a length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . The tugs had a top speed of . The largest boom had a capacity of 4 tons. They were armed with one

3"/50 caliber gun The 3"/50 caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...

and two single

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emplo ...

. The crew had five officers and 47 enlisted men. They had a fuel capacity of . The propulsion was one Fulton Iron Works vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine with two

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox is an American renewable, environmental and thermal energy technologies and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets across the globe with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio, USA. Historicall ...

"D"-type boilers with a single propeller creating . They had two turbo drive Ships Service Generators, rated at 60 kW 120 V D.C. An example is .

Small coastal transport

Fulton Shipyard built

s of the

APc-1-class small coastal transports ''APc-1''-class small coastal transports were a troopship design used during World War 2 for the United States Navy (USN). These ships were assigned to the Pacific War where they transported supplies, personnel and munitions around the Island ho ...

design. The ship had a displacement of 100 tons light, 258 tons fully loaded with a length of , a beam of , a draft of , and a top speed of . The crew was composed of 3 officers and 22 enlisted men and could transport up to 66 troops. The vessels had a large boom with a capacity of 3 tons. They were armed with four single 20 mm AA guns. the ''APc-1'' class had a fuel capacity of of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

. They were powered by one

Enterprise Engine The Enterprise Foundry Company was incorporated in 1908. On 28 November 1940 the company name was changed to Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company to reflect the changed nature of the business. The original foundry was established in 1886. The co ...

DMG-6

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

with a single propeller creating . For electrical they had two diesel 30 kW 120V D.C. service generators. The ship moved troops in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. A notable ship was .

''Accentor''-class minesweeper

Fulton Shipyard built s, with a displacement of , a length of –, a beam of –, and a draft of –. The minesweepers were powered by a diesel engine with and a top speed of . A crew of 17 manned the ship and deck guns. Armament was a two .50 cal.

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...

s. ''Accentor''-class minesweepers were used to sweep

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

s in harbors, bays, and other littoral waters, due to their small size. Notable ships: , , , , and .

''Agile''-class minesweeper

Fulton Shipyard built s with a displacement of 853 tons full, a length of , a beam of , and a draft of . The vessels were powered by four

Packard Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...

ID1700

diesel engines The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-calle ...

, with and two controllable pitch propellers. The ships had a top speed of . The ship crew was 7 officers and 70 enlisted men. The minesweepers were armed with one

Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

and two .50 cal (12.7 mm) twin machine gun. Notable ships: and .

Notable incidents

* ran aground in a typhoon and sank on October 9, 1945 in

Nakagusuku Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all in ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. * grounded and destroyed on January 12, 1946 near Okinawa. * The troopship ''APc-28'' ran aground and burnt off Okinawa in 1946 * ''APc-102'' was beached and lost at

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

in 1945 * ''APc-103'' was grounded and destroyed on December 2, 1945 off Okinawa in Nakagusuku Bay.

References