I'm going to go out on a limb here, but just working from memory, think that the kit is actually a model of the "Hog Islander" cargo and troop transports mass produced in Philadelphia towards the end of WW I and "reboxed" by Lindberg as a "Q" ship, but don't think any of them ever served in that capacity
The Hog Islanders saw a lot of different uses over time, including some being adapted as tenders between the wars, as commercial cargo ships, and as cargo ships during the war - so you could go a lot of different directions with the kit.
Like many of the Lindberg kits, I recall that it originally came with a small can motor.