"Zane", as part of Task Unit (TU) 61.1.3, towed four landing craft (two LCVP's, one LCV and an LCM) to the objective area. As part of the "Spit Kit Expeditionary Force," the minesweeper thus put into action part of the troops slated to occupy the Russells. On 21 February 1943, Operation Cleanslate commenced but encountered no opposition from the enemy, who had only recently evacuated the islands. As Vice Admiral George C. Dyer wrote in his biography of Admiral Richmond K. Turner "The Amphibians Came to Conquer" "'Cleanslate' went off with precision, but without fanfare or publicity."