Naval History and Heritage Command

III

The third Wild Cat, a single-screw, wooden-hulled freight boat built at Milton, Del., by R. T. Potter and completed in 1915, was acquired by the Navy from R. T. Potter on 5 July 1917 and commissioned on 17 July 1917.

Designated SP-879, Wild Cat was assigned to the New London section of the 2d Naval District for local freight-carrying duties. On occasion, she served as a dispatch boat and towed ash lighters and coal scows. She also transported garbage, guns, and ordnance materials. In February 1919, when some subchasers were going out of commission at New London, Wild Cat assisted in their demobilization by mooring astern of a nest of them and taking on board their depth bombs and "Y" gun charges and transporting these items to magazines on shore.

When the need for her services with the 2d Naval District diminished, Wild Cat was turned over to the Coast and Geodetic Survey at the Marine Basin, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 14 April 1919.