"Andrew Turnbull" was laid down on 15 December 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1222, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. James C. Merrill, Jr., the wife of a Merrill-Stevens Drydock & Repair Co. executive, and was launched on 8 February 1944.