Comber was built in 1916 as a commercial fishing trawler of the same name by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The U.S. Navy chartered Comber in 1917 for World War I service and commissioned her as USS Comber (SP-344) on 19 April 1917 with Lieutenant M. F. Powers, USNRF, in command. The Navy returned Comber to her owners on 2 April 1919.