Battle of Attu
Her construction was awarded to Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington under a Maritime Commission contract, on 18 June 1942. She was ordered under the name "Elbour Bay" (a misspelling of "Elbow Bay"), as part of a tradition which named escort carriers after bays or sounds in Alaska. She was renamed "Attu", after the Battle of Attu, on 6 November 1943, 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 16 March 1944, MC hull 1139, the forty-seventh of a series of fifty "Casablanca"-class escort carriers. She was launched on 27 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George W. Steele; transferred to the United States Navy and commissioned on 30 June 1944, with Captain Henry Fahnestock MacComsey in command.