"Finch" was launched 30 March 1918 by Standard Shipbuilding Co., New York; sponsored by Mrs. F. G. Peabody; and commissioned 10 September 1918, with Lieutenant J. C. Lindberg in command. The ship's fame was secured as the first and only ship-command of then Lieutenant (promoted to lieutenant commander on 25 September 1937, retroactive to 1 July) Hyman G. Rickover, future commander of Naval Reactors and the longest-serving active duty U.S. Naval officer. Rickover commanded "Finch" from 17 July to 5 October 1937, when the ship was primarily operating at Shanghai, China, to protect American interests during the Battle of Shanghai, the first of 22 major engagements fought between the Chinese and Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.