The first USS Los Angeles (ID-1470) was a tanker that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919. SS Los Angeles was built by Union Iron Works at San Francisco, California, as a commercial tanker in 1916 for the Union Oil Company of California. The U.S. Navy acquired her from Union Oil in 1917 for World War I service under a bareboat charter, gave her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1470, and commissioned her as USS Los Angeles on 9 August 1917 at New Orleans, Louisiana, with Lieutenant Commander Alexander Mackenzie . During the remainder of 1917, Los Angeles operated along the United States East Coast and United States Gulf Coast and made two cruises with the .