The ship was laid down on 26 August 1943 at Kearny, New Jersey, by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Port Newark, New Jersey; launched on 14 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Dina Bronstein Kurtz, the mother of Lt.(jg.) Bronstein; and commissioned on 13 December 1943, Lt. Sheldon H. Kinney in command.