Gardiners Bay departed Seattle, Washington, on 1 March 1945 for shakedown out of San Diego, California, which she completed on 20 April 1945. She then proceeded via Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands to tend the seaplanes of Patrol Bombing Squadron 19 (VPB-19) in a 10-day training period, thence via Saipan and Guam in the Mariana Islands to Kerama Retto, Okinawa, where she arrived on 7 June 1945 with provisions and cargo for Fleet Air Wing 1.
