The two gunboats were built in the Charleston Navy Yard in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Tulsa was sponsored by Dorothy V. McBirney, the daughter of a prosperous Tulsa banker, and Asheville was sponsored by Alyne J. Reynolds, the daughter of a wealthy Asheville doctor.

Tulsa spent her first five years in Central American waters showing the flag, projecting America's naval power among the Central American states.
She was later involved in the civil strife in Nicaragua in the late 1920s during which bluejackets and marines from Tulsa helped maintain order ashore.
Tulsa was involved in operations in Nicaragua from August 1926 to December 1928.
On 1 April 1929, Tulsa was assigned as the flagship of the South China Patrol, which was based in Canton and Hong Kong, and patrolled the Pearl River and South China Sea.
In June 1929, she was reassigned to a two-week deployment with the Yangtze Patrol.
The following month she was reassigned to Tientsin, to gather intelligence, and reported it back to the Asiatic Fleet.
In May 1941, she was reassigned to the Philippines, and joined the Inshore Patrol, which guarded the littoral zone of Manila Bay.

Asheville spent some time "showing the flag" in Central America and then transferred to the Middle East, forming part of the Asiatic Fleet in 1922.
She also later served in the South China Patrol, but returned to Central America in 1929.
The two gunboats were built in the Charleston Navy Yard in North Charleston, South Carolina. Tulsa was sponsored by Dorothy V. McBirney, the daughter of a prosperous Tulsa banker, and Asheville was sponsored by Alyne J. Reynolds, the daughter of a wealthy Asheville doctor.
Tulsa spent her first five years in Central American waters showing the flag, projecting America's naval power among the Central American states. She was later involved in the civil strife in Nicaragua in the late 1920s during which bluejackets and marines from Tulsa helped maintain order ashore. Tulsa was involved in operations in Nicaragua from August 1926 to December 1928. On 1 April 1929, Tulsa was assigned as the flagship of the South China Patrol, which was based in Canton and Hong Kong, and patrolled the Pearl River and South China Sea. In June 1929, she was reassigned to a two-week deployment with the Yangtze Patrol. The following month she was reassigned to Tientsin, to gather intelligence, and reported it back to the Asiatic Fleet. In May 1941, she was reassigned to the Philippines, and joined the Inshore Patrol, which guarded the littoral zone of Manila Bay.
Asheville spent some time "showing the flag" in Central America and then transferred to the Middle East, forming part of the Asiatic Fleet in 1922. She also later served in the South China Patrol, but returned to Central America in 1929.
Asheville-class gunboat (1917)