Updegraff, U. Brown in command. Laden with troops and a cargo of planes, she steamed via Pearl Harbor for the Gilbert Islands , arriving off Tarawa Atoll 24 January to supply 5th Fleet carriers then engaged in the conquest of the Marshalls.
For more than two weeks she provided logistic support from Tarawa to Majuro Atoll before returning to Alameda, California , 24 February. She departed Pearl Harbor 30 May; and, while en route to Saipan , she successfully evaded a Japanese torpedo that crossed her bow close aboard. Touching at Eniwetok 9 June, Kalinin Bay reached the eastern coast of Saipan 15 June and commenced air operations in support of the invasion.
After repelling an enemy air attack at dusk on the 17th, she sailed 19 June to ferry planes to and from Eniwetok. Returning to Saipan 24 June, she resumed effective air strikes against enemy positions on the embattled island until 9 July when she steamed via Eniwetok for similar duty at Guam. Arriving 20 July, she launched direct support and ASW sorties until 2 August, then returned to Eniwetok to prepare for operations in the Palau Islands.
Ordered to furnish air support for the capture, occupation, and defense of Peleliu , Angaur , and Ngesebus , she launched air strikes to support landing operations. For 2 weeks her planes, flying almost sorties, inflicted heavy damage on enemy ground installations and shipping. On 25 September, alone, they sank or destroyed three cargo transports and six landing barges.
Ordered to provide air coverage and close air support during the bombardment and amphibious landings on Leyte Island, she arrived off Leyte 17 October.
