Nahma, a 2900-ton yacht, was built in 1897 at Glasgow, Scotland. She was leased by the U.S. Navy in June 1917 and placed in commission in August 1917 as USS Nahma (SP-771). During the rest of World War I, she operated out of Gibraltar on convoy escort duty. After the Armistice, she served in the Aegean and Black Seas supporting refugee relief and communications efforts during the post-war strife in Turkey and Russia. Nahma was decommissioned at Greenock, Scotland, in July 1919 and returned to her owner.