The ship was laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS O'Toole (DE-274), the first ship of the name, by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 20 May 1943 and launched on 8 July 1943. O'Toole was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease upon completion on 28 September 1943.
Service history
Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Gardiner (K478) on 28 September 1943[1] simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty for the remainder of World War II.
The Royal Navy decommissionedGardiner in 1945[5] after the end of the war and returned her to the U.S. Navy at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 12 February 1946.
^ abAccording to uboat.net HMS Gardiner (K 478), the Royal Navy had removed Gardiner from its active list by October 1945, indicating her decommissioning prior to that.