Emptied of her P-38 cargo, "Santee" departed Glasgow in convoy on 13 January and returned to Norfolk on 24 January. She stood out of Norfolk on 13 February with destroyer escort , transited the Panama Canal on 18–19 February and moored at San Diego, California, on 28 February. There, she embarked 300 Navy and Marine Corps personnel and 31 aircraft for delivery to Pearl Harbor. She also took on 24 Grumman F4F Wildcats and Grumman TBF Avengers as her own air group.