She was acquired by the Navy in the spring of 1917 from the Taft Fish Company, of Tappahannock, Virginia; ordered delivered on 1 April; and accepted on 28 May for service as a minesweeper.

Designated SP-429, James was fitted out for "distant service" at the Norfolk Navy Yard and, near the end of August, departed the Tidewater area, bound for Boston, Massachusetts.

Reaching Ponta Delgada, Azores on 6 September, James and her sister ships remained for five days, awaiting the tardy arrival of coal and water.

Disbanded as a mine squadron almost immediately after arriving at Brest, France on 18 September, the vessels of the group soon were busy escorting convoys into and out of port.

From Lorient, James not only conducted minesweeping operations but covered coastal convoys, cleared important passages near Belle Île, undertook night antisubmarine patrols using her crude listening gear, and assisted vessels in distress in her area.

She departed Brest on 27 April 1919, bound for the U.S., but soon began encountering "boisterous weather" with increasing north westerly winds and a choppy sea.

Rigging up a ferry arrangement with a liferaft from James, the trawler's entire crew reached safety on board the gunboat by shortly after 08:00 on 28 April.