Mataco was laid down on 27 June 1942 by United Engineering Co., San Francisco, California; launched on 14 October 1942, sponsored by Miss Evelyn B. Piper; and commissioned on 29 May 1943.

She stood off Kwajalein on 31 January 1944 to screen transports, free beached landing craft, and send her divers to recover documents from sunken Japanese ships.

In January 1945 she carried out a major salvage assignment at Leyte, in February she made a tow to Saipan and Guam, and in April she joined the assault on Okinawa.

She was in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, and after investigating smuggling in the Ryūkyūs, sailed to Korea, where she performed combat salvage and air sea rescue missions beginning with the 15 September Inchon landings.

Target towing missions in Japan and between Guam and Pearl Harbor completed this tour, and she arrived in San Diego, California, 12 August 1951.

After towing a damaged LST from Da Nang to Guam in July, she trained Korean navy men in salvage in Chinhae, then returned San Diego on 6 November.

After repairs, Mataco went into the upper reaches of the Saigon River in the vicinity of Nhà Bè to tow the mined SS Cuba Victory to Yokosuka, Japan.

In 1967 and 1968, the Mataco earned the Commander's Service Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Battle Efficiency "E." May 1967 she rescued the SS Minot Victory.