 Originally classified as a patrol gunboat, PG-157, "Muskogee" was reclassified as a patrol frigate, PF-49, on 15 April 1943.She was laid down on 18 September 1943, by Consolidated Steel Corporation at Wilmington, California, launched on 18 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. S. B. Hudson, wife of the mayor of Muskogee, and commissioned on 16 March 1944, with Commander Rufus E. Mroczkowski, USCG, in command.After training and exercises off the California coast, "Muskogee", manned by a United States Coast Guard crew, departed San Pedro, California, on 18 June 1944, for Nouméa, New Caledonia, where she arrived on 18 July 1944, for patrol and escort duty from Nouméa and, after its capture, Humboldt Bay, New Guinea.