Annapolis was laid down on 2 September 1961 at Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax and launched on 27 April 1963. She was commissioned into the RCN on 19 December 1964 with pennant number 265. Annapolis served most of her career with the RCN, first with Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and later with Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC); while serving with MARPAC she was primarily used as a training ship. In the late 1980s, she was the first warship fitted with a towed array sonar system. In addition, in 1990, she was the first Canadian naval vessel to have a mixed-gender crew.