"Crowley" was named for Lieutenant Commander Thomas Ewing Crowley, who was killed in action on during the attack on Pearl Harbor

She was launched on 22 September 1943 by Mare Island Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. T. E. Crowley, widow of Lieutenant Commander Crowley; commissioned on 25 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander T. J. Skewes, Jr., USNR, in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.Departing San Francisco, California, on 25 May 1944, "Crowley" arrived at Pearl Harbor on 31 May and joined in anti-submarine training exercises in Hawaii until 12 August.