At 1640, all the crew, except the salvage party, was taken off by "Ralph Talbot". Soon afterward, the group was attacked by dive bombers, and "McCawley" was strafed, but no further damage was inflicted as the salvage party manned her guns to shoot down one of the three planes destroyed. By 1850, the draft aft had increased to , and Admiral Wilkinson ordered "McCalla" alongside to take off the salvage party. Within the hour, all hands were aboard "McCalla" and pulling clear of the stricken transport.