USS Raymond J. Anderton, a 290-ton patrol vessel and minesweeper, was built at Noank, Connecticut, in 1911 as the steam fishing trawler of the same name. She was purchased by the Navy in June 1917 and placed in commission in mid-August. Under the terms of General Order # 314, issued in late July 1917, her name was officially shortened to Anderton, but the longer original name also continued in use. With several other "Menhaden Fisherman" type vessels, she crossed the Atlantic in September to begin patrol operations off the French west coast. After experience showed that ships of her type were unsuitable for the open sea, her mission was changed to minesweeping.

For the remainder of World War I, and for several months following the 11 November 1918 Armistice, Anderton operated out of Lorient in a constant effort to ensure that vital shipping could enter and leave the western French ports unimpeded by mines laid by German submarines. As necessary, she also performed convoy and antisubmarine patrol duties. In the spring of 1919, Anderton and her sisters attempted to return to the United States, but the transit was soon halted by bad weather and she returned to France. She was decommissioned at Brest in September 1919 for sale abroad, but was obtained by her previous owners, who restored her original name and returned her to fishing work, which she performed until 1922.