The wooden-hulled tug Albert Brown was acquired by the Navy from W. P. Orr, Jr., of Bristol, Maine, on 20 May 1917 and commissioned on 3 July 1917.

Less than a month later, on 28 July 1917, Admiral William S. Benson, as Acting Secretary of the Navy, promulgated General Order No.

She was rebuilt in 1897 and remained active in the Menhaden fishery, operating out of Lewes, Delaware, until taken over by the Navy for World War I service.

In 1919 or early 1920, she was reported to be sunk at the Naval Air Station, Cape May, New Jersey, and was stricken from the Navy list in March 1920.

After efforts to sell the wreck were unsuccessful, Albert Brown's remains were removed by Army Engineers.