The messenger of the gods in Greek mythology.
Hermes, built by W. F. Stone of Oakland, Calif., in 1914, was a German vessel in port at Honolulu when the United States entered World War I in April 1916. Taken over by the Navy on Executive order, she commissioned at Honolulu on 1 April 1918, Lt. John T. Diggs in command.
Originally intended as a submarine patrol vessel, Hermes performed this duty out of Honolulu during the summer of 1918. On 31 August she sailed on a cruise among the islands northwest of Hawaii, including Laysan and Wake, to search for survivors of shipwrecks, signs of enemy activity, and to conduct a survey on wildlife and particularly birds for the Biological Survey Commission, Washington. After returning to Pearl Harbor on 2 October, she continued as a patrol craft.
Hermes was ordered decommissioned on 16 January 1919 and placed at the disposal of the Hawaiian territorial government for use as a tender to leper colonies. When the territorial government .decided they could not afford her upkeep, Hermes was turned over to the Pacific Air Detachment, whom she served as a store ship and general auxiliary craft. She was sold on 21 October 1926.
