USS Inca (SP-1212) was a 62-foot-long motorboat built in 1917 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island. Displacing approximately 23 tons, she was one of nine similar vessels constructed with the expectation that private owners would lend them to the U.S. Navy for wartime service during World War I. The vessel was acquired from F. B. McQuesten of Boston, Massachusetts, in July 1917 and was commissioned on July 28, 1917, at Boston. Designed as a versatile patrol craft, USS Inca served primarily in the First Naval District, patrolling the outer Boston Harbor. Her duties extended beyond simple patrols; she participated in coast convoy operations with submarines and served as a test platform for submarine signaling and detection devices, contributing to the Navy’s anti-submarine efforts during the war. In October 1917, she was reassigned to the Fifth Naval District, arriving at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on November 3, 1917. In Hampton Roads, USS Inca fulfilled multiple roles. She functioned as a rescue craft for aircraft from the Naval Air Station engaged in flights over Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. During 1918, she served as a seaplane tender, supporting naval aviation operations. Later that year, on July 26, she was assigned to the Industrial Department at Hampton Roads as a dispatch boat, a role she maintained until the end of her naval service. During her time in service, she was renamed USS SP-1212, dropping her original name. USS Inca’s service concluded shortly after the war; she was returned to her owner on April 17, 1919. Her varied duties and adaptability exemplify the multifaceted roles played by small patrol vessels during wartime, serving both in direct patrol and auxiliary capacities vital to naval operations along the U.S. coast.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.