USS Richard Bulkeley

USS Richard Bulkeley was a minesweeping trawler leased from the British Royal Navy. Built as HMT Richard Bulkeley, the ship was a Mersey-class naval trawler, purpose built for service with the Auxiliary Patrol. On July 12, 1919, it was struck by an American Mk VI mine while removing minefields in the North Sea.

Design and construction
The early years of the First World War saw the Royal Navy acquire very large numbers of trawlers and drifters for use as minesweepers and patrol boats for the Auxiliary Patrol. By 1916, however, more fishing vessels could not be taken up from trade without causing the commercial fishing fleet to shrink to an unacceptably small size, so the British Admiralty commenced a construction programme of trawlers to meet the navy's needs. Three types of trawler were chosen for mass production, based on successful designs of commercial trawler, with very large numbers (550 were ordered by 1918). One of these types was the Mersey-class, based on Cochrane & Sons' prototype Lord Mersey.

The Mersey-class ships were 148 ft long overall and 138 ft between perpendiculars, with a beam) of 23 ft and a draught of 12 ft. The ships had a Gross register tonnage of 324 tons, with a displacement of 438 LT.They were propelled by a 600 ihp triple expansion steam engine, giving a speed of 11 kn.

Richard Bulkeley was launched at Cochrane's Selby yard on 28 August 1917.

Service
Richard Bulkeley was loaned to the US Navy on 31 May 1919 for use as a minesweeper.

Sinking
Just before sunset on July 12, Richard Bulkeley was sunk by the explosion of a mine fouled in the “kite” (Type 7 plunger kite) of her sweep gear. The USS George Clarke, under the command of Lt. Edwin V. Wilder was able to retrieve twelve survivors from the icy waters. Six others perished in the incident.
 * Comdr. Frank Ragan King
 * Engineman 1st Class Floyd Harman
 * Fireman 1st Class George M. Sowers
 * Fireman 2nd Class George P. Rezab
 * Ship’s Cook 1st Class Antino Perfidio
 * Seaman 2nd Class Homer Perdue
 * Seaman 2nd Class John V. Mallon

Captain King
Commander Frank Ragan King assumed command of the trawler Richard Buckley 7 July 1919 during minesweeping operations in the North Sea. On 12 July 1919 his ship struck a mine and went down in only seven minutes. During the crisis, King exerted himself to see that all of his crew might be saved. King's feeling for his men was evidenced by the fact that his final act before going down with his ship was to strap his own life preserver to a stunned sailor and help him over the side. Comdr. King received the Distinguished Service Medal for his valor. The destroyer USS King (DD-242) was named for him.