The third ship to be named Jamestown by the Navy, AG-166, a converted Liberty ship, was launched as J. Howland Gardner under Maritime Commission contract by New England Shipbuilding Corp., South Portland, Maine, 10 July 1945; and sponsored by Mrs. George W. Elkins of Newport, Rhode Island.
The Liberty ship was completed on 14 August 1945, and chartered under general agency agreement by Waterman Steamship Co. until 17 June 1946, when she went into the Maritime Reserve Fleet.