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USS ''Algonquin'', completed as ''El Toro'' in 1891 for the Southern Pacific Railroad's Morgan Line, was a small harbor tug commissioned by the United States Navy 2 April 1898. Renamed ''Accomac'', after Accomac, Virginia, June 1898, renamed ''Nottoway'' in 1918 and, after the Navy adopted alphanumeric hull numbers on 17 July 1920, classified as YT-18, a district tug. On 5 October 1942 the name was cancelled and the tug was simply ''YT-18'' until 1944 when classification was changed to ''YTL-18'', a little harbor tug. Over the years as a Navy tug, from 1898 to 1946, the tug served from Cuba to Boston. ==Construction== The steam tug ''El Toro'' was built at Newport News, Virginia by Newport News Shipbuilding for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company owned Morgan Line with delivery 20 May 1891.〔A second ''El Toro'' was built and delivered to the line March, 1907 by Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Delaware. A third was launched 10 March 1924 by New Jersey Dry Dock & Transportation Company. Both companies later became parts of the Bethlehem Steel Company shipbuilding component.〕 The tug was designed by naval architect Horace See with a quadruple expansion steam engine, then an unusual feature. ''El Toro'' was built principally as a fire boat with towing capability to tow the Morgan Line ships arriving or departing New York between the passenger terminal at North River Pier 37 and the cargo terminal at Pier 25. ''El Toro'' was the second ship, hull number 2, constructed by the then small shipyard, and its success led to building the line's cargo and passenger ships ''El Sud'' (hull #3), ''El Norte'' (#4), and ''El Rio'' (#5) and ''El Cid'' (#6) as its next four ships. The See designed quadruple expansion steam engine had cylinders of , , and with stroke connected to two opposed cranks each driven by two cylinders arranged in tandem and driving a propeller. Steam at pressure was provided by a two furnace steel return tube type boiler in diameter by in length. Two Worthington fire and bilge pumps provided water for fire fighting or bilge pumping. A summary of the previous year written in 1895 gives a picture of the tug's duties: *Steamships towed from Company's piers to Erie Basin,〔Erie Basin is located in Brooklyn's Red Hook area.〕 or distance equal thereto: 70 *Steamships towed from piers Nos. 37 to 25: 132 *Steamships docked at piers Nos. 37 and 25: 152 *Lighters towed and moored: 520 *Miles run without tow: 5342 *On fire duty: Remaining time *Days in commission: 351 *Coal consumed per day" 1 1/6 tons. ''El Toro'' was the flagship of the New York Naval Reserve and in 1891 the new tug is noted as taking the commander to the exercise while flying the new flag of the Naval Reserve. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Algonquin (Tug)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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