The first USS Panther (AD-6), the former SS Venezuela, was an auxiliary cruiser and naval troop transport in the United States Navy.
Panther was built by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. in 1889. As the SS Venezuela, a merchant steamship, it was used for several years as a cargo freighter transporting bananas from Central and South America. The Panther was purchased by the Navy from Red D Line Steamship Co. on 12 April 1898, and commissioned at New York on 22 April 1898, Commander George Cook Reiter in command. Panther was designated AD-6 in 1920.