Construction on the ship, then known only as "Hull Number 534", began in December 1930 on the River Clyde by the John Brown & Company shipyard at Clydebank in Scotland.
Izgradnja broda, tada poznatog samo kao "Broj trupa 534" (Hull Number 534) započela je prosinca 1930. na rijeci Clyde, u brodogradilištu John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering u Clydebanku u Škotskoj.