The ship weighed anchor the following morning at 0856 on 15 September 1945, in answer to an urgent radio appeal to rescue wounded, sick, and malnourished Allied prisoners still languishing in Japanese captivity that required immediate medical treatment. "Kitkun Bay" launched eight planes carrying liaison parties to Chitose, an airfield on Hokkaido from which the Japanese had sent kamikazes against Allied ships. The aircraft picked up seven ambulatory British Royal Air Force (RAF) servicemen and brought them back on board by noon. The carrier then cleared the anchorage, turned her prow southward, and dropped anchor at Yokohama on 17 September. After an early lunch, the RAF survivors boarded medium landing ship LSM-208 with the first leg of their long homeward journey completed.