[3] The vessel was laid down on 31 December 1941 by John Crown & Sons at Sunderland and launched 25 February 1943.

From Dec 1943 to Mar 1944, she was commanded by Lt Cdr Nicholas Monsarrat, who later depicted her as "HMS River" in his 1946 novel H. M. Frigate.

[4] On 29 January 1944, while undergoing a refit at Halifax, Ettrick was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy.

On 14 January 1945, she rammed U-1232 during the defence of convoy BX 141, damaging the submarine's conning tower.

[3][4] Following the vessel's return to the Royal Navy, she was converted to a combined operations headquarters ship.