Fulton

Fulton, original name Demologos, first steam-powered warship, weighing 2,745 displacement tons and measuring 156 feet (48 metres) in length, designed for the U.S. Navy by the U.S. engineer Robert Fulton. She was launched in October 1814 and her first trial run was in June of the following year. A wooden catamaran (two-hulled) frigate, the Fulton was propelled by a single, centrally placed paddle wheel and mounted 32 guns. Her speed did not exceed 6 knots (6 nautical miles or 11 kilometres per hour). Intended mainly for harbour defense, she never went to sea and was eventually destroyed by an explosion in the Brooklyn Navy Yard on June 4, 1829.