The USS Carina was launched on 6 November 1942 by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 1, Richmond, California, as the Liberty ship S.S. David Davis (MCE hull 502). She was sponsored by Mrs. A. R. Olds, transferred to the U.S. Navy on 20 November 1942, and commissioned on 1 December 1942, with Lt. Commander J. I. MacPherson, USNR, in command.
