Richard Bulkeley AM

Richard Bulkeley

(AM: dp. 550; 1. 150', b. 22', dr. 14'6'; s. 10.5 k.; cpl. 25;
el. (R. N.) Mersey;

Richard Bulkeley was launched 21 August 1917 by Coehrane & Sons, Selby, England, as a wooden patrol and antisubmarine vessel for the Royal Navy. She was acquired 31 May 1919 on loan for U.S. Navy service as a minesweeper and commissioned the same day, Lt. Michael J. Wilkinson in command.

Richard Bulkeley served as flagship of Comdr. Frank L. King, commander of a minesweeper flotilla engaged in clearing the Northern Mine Barrage laid during World War I to block German submarine routes to the Atlantic. While underway on a sweeping operation in the North Sea 12 July 1919, Richard Bulkeley's sweeping gear caught a mine which suddenly exploded. The ship sank with the loss of seven men, including Commander King, whose name was given to a destroyer (DD-242) then under construction in the United States.