The first USS Caprice (SP-703) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

A 45-foot (14-meter) Electric Launch Company (ELCO) "motor cruiser" depicted in a halftone reproduction, published with an ELCO advertisement in a pre-World War I boating publication. USS Caprice (SP-703) was built as a private motorboat to this design.
History
United States
NameUSS Caprice
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderElectric Launch Company (ELCO), Bayonne, New Jersey
Completed1914
AcquiredMay 1917
Commissioned24 August 1917
Decommissioned24 January 1919
FateReturned to owner 24 January 1919
NotesOperated as private motorboat Caprice 1914–1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
TypePatrol vessel
Length45 ft 10 in (13.97 m)
Draft5 ft (1.5 m)
Speed9 knots
Complement9
Armament1 × 1-pounder gun

Caprice was built in 1914 as a private motorboat of the same name by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) at Bayonne, New Jersey. In May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, William Sloan of Norfolk, Virginia, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Caprice (SP-703) on 24 August 1917.

Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Caprice carried out patrol duties for the rest of World War I.

Caprice was decommissioned on 24 January 1919 and returned to Sloan the same day.

References

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