 "Electra" (AK-21) was launched 18 November 1941 as "Meteor" by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Fla., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. C. O. Andrews, wife of the Senator from Florida; transferred to the Navy 16 April 1941; and commissioned 17 March 1942, Commander J. J. Hughes in command.She was reclassified AKA-4, 1 February 1943.After a fast voyage from Norfolk, Va., to Wellington, New Zealand, between 10 May and 18 July 1942, to deliver men of the 1st Marines, "Electra", upon her return trained in the Chesapeake Bay with troops assigned to the initial north African landings.