 "Theodore E. Chandler" was laid down on 23 April 1945 at Kearny, New Jersey, by the Federal Shipbuilding Company; launched on 20 October 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Theodore E. Chandler; and commissioned on 22 March 1946, Commander Francis O. Fletcher, Jr., in command.After shakedown near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she escorted and while the two aircraft carriers trained new pilots.Then, on 20 September, she stood out of New York bound for the west coast.