Fulton Shipyard was a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

company in

Antioch, California Antioch is the third-most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,29 ...

. The

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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, suc ...

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 to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

s. The shipyard was located on the

Stockton Channel Stockton Channel (or Stockton Waterfront) is a waterway in California, 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 Lak ...

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 ( ; ) 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 Suisun Bay, San Francis ...

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 e ...

. 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

''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 and the

European theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

. 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 *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

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 v ...

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-inch/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 Caliber (artillery), calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). ...

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 empl ...

. 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 Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

"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, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, 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 re ...

. They were powered by one

Enterprise Engine Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

DMG-6

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

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 or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. 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 near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

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

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

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 (formerly the 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 ...

ID1700

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

, 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 models of 40 mm calibre automatic anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: * Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/43 - developed in the 1930s with market entry in 1934, wid ...

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, Okinawa, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Okinawa, Naka ...

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. * 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 () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

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

References