Pontiac photographed prior to her World War I Navy service.
History
United States
Name	USS Pontiac
Namesake	Chief Pontiac
Christened	as Pioneer
Completed	1883
Acquired	chartered by the US Navy 4 March 1918
In service	March 1918
Out of service	July 1918
Refit	1909
Stricken	est. July 1918
Fate	returned to owner 1918
General characteristics
Type	ferryboat
Tonnage	112 gross tons
Length	114 ft (35 m)
Beam	22 ft 2 in (6.76 m)
Draft	4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Speed	8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)

USS Pontiac (ID 2343) was a commercial ferryboat twice chartered by the U.S. Navy during World War I. After acquiring the ferry from the Pawtucket Steamboat Co, the Navy was not able to find an adequate use for the vessel, such as a minesweeper, and returned it, finally, to its owner.

Built in Rhode Island

Pontiac, a 112 gross ton steam ferryboat built at East Providence, Rhode Island, in 1883 and rebuilt there in 1909, was previously named Pioneer.

World War I service

She was chartered by the Navy in March 1918 and briefly was USS Pontiac (ID 2343). However, a planned conversion to a minesweeper was not carried out and she was returned to her owner in June 1918. Again taken over soon after that, she was given back to her owner for a final time in July 1918.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Pontiac (American Ferry, 1883). Briefly served as USS Pontiac (ID # 2343) in 1918