Betty Jane I was built in 1913 as a private motorboat of the same name by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) at Bayonne, New Jersey. On 4 September 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, Percy Ballentyne of South Montrose, Pennsylvania, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned later that day as USS Betty Jane I.
Assigned to the 6th Naval District, Betty Jane I patrolled the southeastern coast of the United States for the rest of World War I. In September 1918, she received a registration number, although sources disagree on whether this was the section patrol number SP-3458[1] or the naval registry identification number ID-3458.[2]
Betty Jane I was stricken from the Navy Directory on 17 January 1919 and the Navy returned her to Ballentyne the same day.