Santa Paula began war service sailing to Australia through the Panama Canal. She next sailed from Charleston, SC to Freetown, Karachi, Cape Town and then to New York. In November 1942 she sailed to Casablanca, Morocco in Operation Torch. 1943 sailings saw trips to Oran, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Argentina, Liverpool, Cardiff, Belfast, Firth of Clyde Palermo and Portsmouth. Voyages of 1944 included a round trip from Boston to Swansea, New York to Cardiff and return to Boston, New York and Norfolk to Naples, New York to Cherbourg and the UK, New York to Leghorn and Naples, and Boston to Avonmouth with a return to New York. In early 1945 Santa Paula visited Naples, Oran, Port Said, Suez, Massaua, Bahrein, Abadan, Naples, and Marseille. From April to December 1945 she made five round trips between New York and Europe as well as a trip to Karachi via the Suez Canal. In her four years of war service she made 28 overseas trips from the United States.
