The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Cohoes (AN-78) was launched on 29 November 1944 by Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon; sponsored by Mrs. W. W. Johnson.

After training at Pearl Harbor, Cohoes sailed 20 June 1945 for Eniwetok, arriving 2 July.

In Langar Roads, she salvaged and re-laid a Japanese mooring buoy, and performed similar operations in the Caroline Islands and in the Marshall Islands until 20 November, when she cleared Kwajalein for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, California, arriving 12 December for duty at Tiburon Net Depot at Tiburon, California.

Cohoes served at Tiburon until 8 April 1946, when she sailed for duty at Astoria, Oregon.

The Navy journal (DANFS) is not complete at this date, but other sources indicate that Cohoes was active in the Vietnam area based on the numerous campaign stars she was awarded: Cohoes was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 30 June 1972.