Returning to Philadelphia on 14 February, she underwent post-shakedown repairs and inspections until 2 March when she got underway for the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal on 8 March, she arrived in San Diego on the 16th. Two days later, she sailed for Hawaii with her flight and hangar decks full with passengers, aircraft and cargo. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 22 March, the she conducted a week of pilot qualification drills in preparation for "forward area deployment". The warship lost her second aircraft on 31 March when a "Hellcat" crashed the landing barrier and went over the side, although the pilot survived without injury.