As TG 21.11, "Santee" and a trio of four-stackers patrolled the North Atlantic from 1–9 December. The group was dissolved upon arrival at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 10 December, and "Santee", minus her aircraft, stood out of Norfolk on 21 December, and headed for New York in company with battleship , and several destroyers. From 22–28 December, the escort carrier packed her hangar and flight decks with P-38 Lightning fighter planes at Staten Island. Getting underway in convoy on 29 December, she steamed unchallenged across the North Atlantic, reaching Glasgow on 9 January 1944.