USS Transfer was a steam-propelled, derrick-rigged freight lighter. She was laid down on 18 August 1904 at the New York Navy Yard, launched on 24 May 1905 and placed in service at New York on 19 July 1910. Transfer spent her entire Navy career in the 3rd Naval District assigned to the New York Navy Yard. Though initially carried on the Navy list as a tugboat, she performed all varied duties of a freight lighter, primarily transporting people, cargo, stores, and other items between ships and shore.