Tenadores was built in 1913 by Workman, Clark and Co., Belfast, Ireland; owned and operated by the United Fruit Co.; taken over by the United States Navy on 12 April 1918; and commisioned on 17 April 1918, Comdr. James B. Gilmer in command.
Tenadores served as a troop transport during the remainder of World War I. Shortly after midnight on 28 December 1918, the ship grounded in a heavy fog off the north coast of the Ile d'Yeu, approximately 10 miles from Brest, France.
During unsuccessful efforts to refloat the ship, some 80 tons of supplies were removed from the stricken vessel and taken to St. Nazaire. On 30 December 1918, minesweeper B.H.B. Hubbard rescued the last members of the transport's crew. On 2 January 1919, Hubbard returned to Tenadores for one last attempt to salvage the ship but was thwarted by high seas and the hopeless state of the transport which was lying on her starboard side and breaking up. The name Tenadores was struck from the Navy list on 18 February 1919.
