The ship was laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Dempsey (DE-267), the first ship of the name, by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 11 March 1943 and launched on 22 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. J. A. Dempsey, mother of the late Lieutenant, junior grade Richard John Dempsey (1919-1942), for whom the ship was named. Dempsey was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease upon completion on 23 August 1943.