The destroyer was laid down by
Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company Limited at the
Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney in
New South Wales on 18 February 1942. The ship was commissioned into the RAN on 25 May 1945, with construction work completing on 26 June. The name was changed yet again prior to the ship's launch to
Bataan; honouring
ties between Australia and the United States by recognising the stand by US troops during the
Battle of Bataan, and reciprocating the US decision to name a cruiser in honour of the Australian cruiser , lost at the
Battle of Savo Island.
Bataan remained in Japanese waters until 18 November, serving as representative of the Australian military and helping coordinate the repatriation of
prisoners-of-war. In late June 1950,
Bataan was en route to Japan for a fifth tour when the
Korean War started. In November 1953,
Bataan visited Singapore. This was the only time since the Korean War, and the only time for the rest of her career, that the destroyer would leave Australian waters. ==Decommissioning and fate==