USS Diamond Head was launched on 3 February 1945, the ship was built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, North Carolina under a Maritime Commission contract, and sponsored by Mrs. D. Bill. Transferred to the U.S. Navy on 10 March 1945, and converted at Bethlehem Key Highway Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland to carry and transfer naval ammunition, the ship was commissioned on 9 August 1945, under the command of Lieutenant Commander F. C. Snow, USNR.
