Comber (No. 344), a trawler, was built by Manitowoc
Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc,
Wis., in 1916; chartered by the Navy; and commissioned 19 April
1917, Lieutenant
M. F. Powers, USNRF, in command. Fitted out as a minesweeper,
Comber carried out
minesweeping operations in the 1st and 2d Naval Districts, carried
supplies, and
patrolled in the Newport area. During the spring and summer of
1918, Comber made
two voyages to Bermuda, convoying submarine chasers. After a brief
tour of
minesweeping in the 4th Naval District, Comber returned to Boston
for more of the
same operations. She was returned to her owners on 2 April
1919.
The name Comber was assigned to SS-527 on 5 May
1944, but construction was
canceled on 29 July 1944.