In March, she underwent drydocking at Pearl Harbor; then took on cargo and passengers. She returned to Ulithi on 4 April 1945, and, on 12 April, departed that port steaming in convoy for Okinawa. She anchored off the Hagushi landing beaches on 18 April. Near dusk each evening, the general alarm sounded, a regular reminder of the danger of Japanese air raiders. On 2 May, sailors on board "Tuscana" saw the flash of firing off the ship's starboard quarter and later observed the glow of an explosion which they thought marked the fiery end of a Japanese suicide boat. On 6 May, "Tuscana" began to assemble nets and moorings to screen the anchorage.