Whippet, a 60-foot motor boat, was built 1916 at at Greenport, Long Island, New York, using the same hull design as some submarine chasers then being constructed for the Russian Government. Though under civilian ownership, she may have been intended for possible Navy use as part of the contemporary "Preparedness" movement. Later renamed Quest, the boat was chartered by the Navy in July 1917 and placed in commission as USS Quest in September of that year. For the rest of World War I, she operated on patrol service out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Quest was returned to her owner in January 1919.