Action (PG-86) was laid down as CN-304 on 6,January 1942 by the Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Canada; launched on 28 July 1942; named Action on 13 August 1942; accepted by the Navy on 21 November 1942; and commissioned on 22 November 1942.
After she had been fitted out at Boston, Action reported to the Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, on 23 February 1943. She then assumed escort and patrol duty. Throughout the rest of 1943, all of 1944, and the first half o'f 1945, Action escorted convoys between New York and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Her next assignment was to patrol the waters in the vicinity of New York and the Narragansett Bay area.
Following the surrender of Germany, Action arrived at the Charleston Navy Yard on 28 June 1945; was decommissioned there on 6 September; and she was stricken from the Navy list on 17 September. In October 1946, Action was transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal.