 The ship was originally ordered from Harland and Wolff of Belfast on 2 February 1943 as the "Loch Lydoch".However the contract was then changed, and the ship was built to a revised design as a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate, launched on 18 November 1944, and completed on 29 May 1945.After commissioning and sea trials "St Austell Bay" was assigned to duty in the British Pacific Fleet.