USS Algonquin (tug)

USS Algonquin
USS Algonquin (1898–1946) At the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, circa April 1898. Note 6mm Colt machine gun and 13-star boat flag aft, and horse cart on pier
History
United States
Name
  • El Toro (1891–1898)
  • Algonquin (1898)
  • Accomac (1898–1918)
  • Nottoway (1918–1942)
  • YT-18 (1942–1944)
  • YTL-18 (1944–1946)
NamesakeA native American people that inhabited the Ottawa River valley
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
Launched1891
Acquiredby purchase, 26 March 1898
Commissioned2 April 1898, as USS Algonquin
Out of service3 April 1946
ReclassifiedYT-18, 17 July 1920
Stricken17 April 1946
FateSold, 15 October 1946
General characteristics
TypeTugboat
Tonnage130.16 GRT
Displacement187 long tons (190 t)
Length90 ft (27 m)
Beam19 ft (5.8 m)
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)
Depth10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
PropulsionQuadruple expansion steam engine
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement12
Armament1 × 6-pounder (2.7 kg) gun

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.