Her construction was awarded to Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington under a Maritime Commission contract, on 18 June 1942, under the name "Alava Bay", as part of a tradition which named escort carriers after bays or sounds in Alaska. She was renamed "Roi", after the capture of the island Roi-Namur during the Battle of Kwajalein, as part of a new naval policy which named subsequent "Casablanca"-class carriers after naval or land engagements. The escort carrier was laid down on 3 March 1944, MC hull 1140, the forty-ninth of a series of fifty "Casablanca"-class escort carriers. She therefore received the classification symbol CVE-103. She was launched on 2 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William Sinton; transferred to the United States Navy and commissioned on 6 July 1944, with Captain Percy Haverly Lyon in command.