The second USS Chenango (CVE-28) (originally designated as oiler AO-31, after redesignation as escort carrier, was first ACV-28) was launched on 1 April 1939 as Esso New Orleans by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, in Chester, Pennsylvania, sponsored by Mrs. Rathbone; acquired by the United States Navy on 31 May 1941; and commissioned on 20 June 1941 as AO-31, with Commander W. H. Mays in command.