Chingachgook – a 60feet fast motorboat (22abbr=onNaNabbr=on) – was built in 1916 by the Greenport Basin and Construction Company of Greenport, Long Island, New York.
Her owner – T. W. Brigham of Greenport – had her armed as a patrol craft as part of the preparedness movement then active in the United States.
She was acquired by the Navy for World War I service in May 1917, and on 6 June 1917 she was placed in commission as USS Chingachgook, named after James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans character, and assigned to the 3rd Naval District for patrol duty.
The boat briefly performed patrol service in the New York City area, but on 31 July 1917 her gasoline tank exploded, injuring members of the crew and igniting the ship. A survey of 13 October found her hull worthless and beyond repair.
Decommissioned at the beginning of October, her remains were disposed of by burning on 19 February 1918.