The first USS Flamingo (AM-32) was laid down 18 October 1917 by the New Jersey Drydock and Transportation Co., Elizabethport, New Jersey; launched, 24 August 1918; Commissioned USS Flamingo, Minesweeper No. 32, 12 February 1919; Flamingo fitted out at the New York Navy Yard and later shifted to Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, on 29 March. The minesweeper performed various towing jobs and carried stores locally in the 3d Naval District into the spring of 1919. On 10 April, she suffered damage in a collision with an unnamed Panama Railroad Co. tug, and underwent repairs at Port Richmond, Staten Island. Shifting to the New York Navy Yard soon thereafter, USS Flamingo began fitting out "for distant service."