Edisto was laid down on 20 October 1942 at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp yard in Tacoma, Washington.
The ship was launched on 9 March 1943.
Edisto was completed and transferred under Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom on 7 September 1943 prior to her commissioning as HMS Nabob with the pennant number D77 into the Royal Navy at Tacoma.
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) wanted to obtain experience with aircraft carriers before their acquisition of their own carriers and sought Admiralty permission to take over Nabob.
However, due to Lend-Lease stipulations, the escort carrier could not be commissioned in any force but the Royal Navy.
In the end a compromise was made whereby the crew would be Canadian while the vessel remained under Royal Navy control.

Following her commissioning, the ship travelled to Vancouver, to undergo modification to Royal Navy standards beginning on 1 November at Burrard Dry Dock.
The conversion completed on 12 January and an arrangement was agreed upon where the crew of the ship would be drawn primarily from the RCN with the exception of the air component, which would be provided by the Fleet Air Arm.
Nabob sailed to San Francisco in February under the command of Captain Nelson Lay of the RCN, where the escort carrier embarked 852 Naval Air Squadron equipped with Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers.

Intended for service as an ASW carrier, Nabob was assigned to the British Home Fleet.
The ship sailed for New York City to collect a deck load of P-51 Mustangs for the United Kingdom.
The mixed crew of British aircrew and engine room personnel with the rest Canadian, led to personnel issues.
The entire crew received the lesser British rate of pay and used British food and disciplinary standards.
This led to a near revolt among the Canadians and to desertions at a stopover at Norfolk, Virginia.
This led Captain Lay to fly to Ottawa to demand Canadian standards of pay for the entire crew before the ship set sail again.
He received this boon.
The escort carrier arrived in British waters in April and after disembarking the aircraft, sailed to the River Clyde to undergo a refit to repair builder's defects.

Nabob returned to service on 29 June, beginning work ups with 852 Squadron and joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow on 1 August.
 856 Naval Air Squadron joined the ship that month.
In August, Nabob participated in two operations off the Norwegian coast.
The first, beginning on 10 August named Operation Offspring, saw the escort carrier paired with HMS Trumpeter and HMS Indefatigable.
This became the largest mining operation by the Home Fleet during the war and 47 mines were dropped between Haarhamsfjord and Lepsorev by 852 and 842 Naval Air Squadrons.
One of the Avenger aircraft was shot down.
The second operation was air strikes against the German battleship Tirpitz (Operation Goodwood).
Nabob was a member of Force 2 during Operation Goodwood, where her Grumman Wildcats of 852 Squadron flew combat air patrol over the carrier and her Avengers of 852 and 856 Naval Air Squadrons flew anti-submarine patrols.
On 22 August, while the main force attacking Tirpitz prepared for another strike, the escort carriers went to refuel the destroyers.
During these operations, Nabob was torpedoed by the German submarine U-354 in the Barents Sea.
The torpedo impact made a hole 32 sq ft (3.0 m²) below the waterline on the starboard side aft.
The stern sank 15 feet (4.6 m) before flooding could be controlled.
Eventually the damage control parties effected enough repairs that the ship could make 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Five days later she steamed into Scapa Flow under her own power but had lost 21 men.

At Scapa Flow, emergency work was done to keep the ship afloat, but Nabob was eventually judged not worth repairing due to a lack of shipyard capacity.
The escort carrier was beached and abandoned on 30 September 1944 on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, then cannibalized for other ships but retained as part of the Reserve Fleet of Rosyth Command.
On 10 October 1944, Nabob was paid off at Rosyth.
She was returned to United S
Edisto was laid down on 20 October 1942 at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp yard in Tacoma, Washington. The ship was launched on 9 March 1943. Edisto was completed and transferred under Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom on 7 September 1943 prior to her commissioning as HMS Nabob with the pennant number D77 into the Royal Navy at Tacoma. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) wanted to obtain experience with aircraft carriers before their acquisition of their own carriers and sought Admiralty permission to take over Nabob. However, due to Lend-Lease stipulations, the escort carrier could not be commissioned in any force but the Royal Navy. In the end a compromise was made whereby the crew would be Canadian while the vessel remained under Royal Navy control.
Following her commissioning, the ship travelled to Vancouver, to undergo modification to Royal Navy standards beginning on 1 November at Burrard Dry Dock. The conversion completed on 12 January and an arrangement was agreed upon where the crew of the ship would be drawn primarily from the RCN with the exception of the air component, which would be provided by the Fleet Air Arm. Nabob sailed to San Francisco in February under the command of Captain Nelson Lay of the RCN, where the escort carrier embarked 852 Naval Air Squadron equipped with Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers.
Intended for service as an ASW carrier, Nabob was assigned to the British Home Fleet. The ship sailed for New York City to collect a deck load of P-51 Mustangs for the United Kingdom. The mixed crew of British aircrew and engine room personnel with the rest Canadian, led to personnel issues. The entire crew received the lesser British rate of pay and used British food and disciplinary standards. This led to a near revolt among the Canadians and to desertions at a stopover at Norfolk, Virginia. This led Captain Lay to fly to Ottawa to demand Canadian standards of pay for the entire crew before the ship set sail again. He received this boon. The escort carrier arrived in British waters in April and after disembarking the aircraft, sailed to the River Clyde to undergo a refit to repair builder's defects.
Nabob returned to service on 29 June, beginning work ups with 852 Squadron and joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow on 1 August.  856 Naval Air Squadron joined the ship that month. In August, Nabob participated in two operations off the Norwegian coast. The first, beginning on 10 August named Operation Offspring, saw the escort carrier paired with HMS Trumpeter and HMS Indefatigable. This became the largest mining operation by the Home Fleet during the war and 47 mines were dropped between Haarhamsfjord and Lepsorev by 852 and 842 Naval Air Squadrons. One of the Avenger aircraft was shot down. The second operation was air strikes against the German battleship Tirpitz (Operation Goodwood). Nabob was a member of Force 2 during Operation Goodwood, where her Grumman Wildcats of 852 Squadron flew combat air patrol over the carrier and her Avengers of 852 and 856 Naval Air Squadrons flew anti-submarine patrols. On 22 August, while the main force attacking Tirpitz prepared for another strike, the escort carriers went to refuel the destroyers. During these operations, Nabob was torpedoed by the German submarine U-354 in the Barents Sea. The torpedo impact made a hole 32 sq ft (3.0 m²) below the waterline on the starboard side aft. The stern sank 15 feet (4.6 m) before flooding could be controlled. Eventually the damage control parties effected enough repairs that the ship could make 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Five days later she steamed into Scapa Flow under her own power but had lost 21 men.
At Scapa Flow, emergency work was done to keep the ship afloat, but Nabob was eventually judged not worth repairing due to a lack of shipyard capacity. The escort carrier was beached and abandoned on 30 September 1944 on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, then cannibalized for other ships but retained as part of the Reserve Fleet of Rosyth Command. On 10 October 1944, Nabob was paid off at Rosyth. She was returned to United S
HMS Nabob (D77)