The USS Nausett (IX–190) was a United States Navy auxiliary tanker with a notable, if somewhat brief, service history during and immediately after World War II. Originally built as the W. M. Irish, this vessel was completed in April 1918 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Alameda, California. As a commercial tanker, she was assigned the official number 216249 and operated by the Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During World War II, the ship was acquired by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on January 20, 1942, and was initially allocated to the U.S. Army under a Transportation Corps agreement. On May 23, 1943, she was transferred to the Soviet Union under lend-lease and was renamed Moskva, operating under Soviet control until her return. After the return, she was renamed Nausett on October 29, 1944, and allocated to the U.S. Navy, which accepted her on a bareboat charter and commissioned her at Pearl Harbor on January 8, 1945. However, upon further inspection, the Navy found that the necessary modifications to make her suitable for naval service were too costly. Consequently, she was placed in reduced commission in June 1945 and returned to the WSA on the West Coast. She arrived in San Francisco on September 23, 1945, and was decommissioned on October 12, 1945. The vessel was then transferred to the WSA and struck from the Navy Register shortly thereafter. She was placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, although she had suffered a breakdown en route to her mooring. The USS Nausett was ultimately sold for scrap on November 27, 1946, to American Iron & Metal for $7,217. Her service illustrates the logistical and support roles played by auxiliary vessels during wartime, though her costly modifications and brief active period reflect the challenges faced in converting commercial ships for military use during wartime exigencies.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.