USS Lassen (AE-3) was built as MS Shooting Star under a U.S. Maritime Commission contract, was delivered to the U.S. Navy after sea trials, and became an ammunition cargo ship during World War II. Like many Naval ships of this category that carried large amounts of explosive cargo, she was named for a volcano (or a volcanic island). In this case, the ship was named for Lassen Peak, a volcano in northern California that erupted heavily in 1914–17.