USS Captain Dud

USS Captain Dud (ID-3507), later USS YD-43, was a United States Navy floating derrick in service from 1918 to 1956.

History
United States
Name	USS Captain Dud (1918–1920) USS YD-43
Namesake	Captain Dud was a shortened version of her previous name YD-43 was her hull number
Builder	S. Flory at Bangor, Pennsylvania
Completed	1914
Acquired	1918
In service	1918
Out of service	1956
Notes	Operated as Captain Dud S507 1914-1918
General characteristics
Type	Floating derrick
Length	95 ft (29 m)
Beam	41 ft 8 in (12.70 m)
Propulsion	Non-self-propelled
Notes	Boom capacity 25 tons

Captain Dud was built in 1914 as the commercial wooden, pontoon-hull, steel A-frame floating derrick Captain Dud S507 by S. Flory at Bangor, Pennsylvania; her design included a copper-sheathed house. In 1918 the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, the Thames Towboat Company of New London, Connecticut, for use during World War I, assigned her the naval registry identification number 3507, and placed her in service as USS Captain Dud (ID-3507).[1][2]

Captain Dud was assigned to the 5th Naval District. When the U.S. Navy adopted its modern hull number system on 17 July 1920, she was classified as a floating crane (YD), her name was dropped, and she became USS YD-43.

YD-43 was rebuilt in 1932 and remained in service until 1956.