USS Sea Hawk, a 29-ton motor boat, was built in 1917 at Bristol, Rhode Island, for a private owner, with the expectation that she would be made available to the Navy for use during World War I. Originally named Herreshoff 319, she was taken over in October 1917 and commissioned in December. Her name was changed to Sea Hawk at about the same time. She initially served as a patrol boat in the First Naval District, operating in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Later, Sea Hawk was transferred to the Seventh Naval District for employment in Florida waters. Decommissioned after World War I ended, she remained at Key West, Florida, until the night of 9-10 September 1919, when she disappeared in a hurricane and was not recovered.