SS ''Richard Bassett'' was a Liberty ship built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was named after Founding Father

Richard Bassett Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

, a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

attorney and politician, veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, delegate to the

Constitutional Convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

of 1787, signer of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from Delaware, Chief Justice of the

Delaware Court of Common Pleas The Delaware Court of Common Pleas are state courts of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Delaware Court of Common Pleas are trial courts and inferior courts of limited jurisdiction. It has criminal jurisdiction throughout the state over all misdem ...

, Governor of Delaware and a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit. He holds the overall seniority position of #1 in the history of the United States Senate.

Construction

''Richard Bassett'' was laid down on 18 March 1942, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 41, by the

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard of Baltimore, Maryland, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on the south shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River which serves as the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Ba ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland; sponsored by Mrs. J.F. McInnis, the wife of the MARCOM Eastcoast Regional Director, and was launched on 22 May 1942.

History

She was allocated to

A. H. Bull Steamship Company A. H. Bull Steamship Company was a shipping company and passenger liner service founded in New York City in 1902 by Archibald H. Bull (1848-1920). Service started with shipping between New York and Florida. His fleet of ships then added service t ...

, on 13 June 1942. On 26 March 1947, she was sold for commercial use to the Baltimore Insular Line, for $544,506. On 29 August 1961, she was used for an exchange with the Maritime Administration (MARAD). On 5 September 1961, she was laid up in the

Hudson River Reserve Fleet The Hudson River Reserve Fleet, formally the Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet and popularly the Mothball Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946 as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. It was first located off T ...

, Jones Point, New York. She was sold for scrapping on 29 October 1962, to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Bassett Liberty ships Ships built in Baltimore 1942 ships Hudson River Reserve Fleet Ships named for Founding Fathers of the United States