High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Lassen (AE-3) ex-SS Shooting Star, was an ammunition cargo ship of the U.S. Navy 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 ships was named for Lassen Peak, a volcano in northern California that erupted heavily in 1914-17.