on 10 July for the southwest Pacific escorting . She reached the Fiji Islands on 23 July and joined Minesweeping Group of Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner's South Pacific Amphibious Force on 31 July. Solomon Islands campaign On 7 August, during the invasion of Guadalcanal, the first amphibious assault in the long island-hopping campaign, Hovey was assigned a screening station for the transports. Then, shortly before 0800, she took a bombardment station to cover the landings east of Gavutu. Japanese shore batteries opened up but were quickly silenced by accurate fire from Hovey and the other ships providing fire support. She next joined other destroyer minesweepers for sweeps between Gavutu and Bungana Islands. The next morning she steamed into Lengo Channel to help ward off an attack by a squadron of torpedo bombers. Intensive US anti-aircraft fire caused the Japanese planes to drop their torpedoes prematurely and hence at too great a range, thereby rendering the attack almost totally ineffective. Hovey continued her operations around Guadalcanal before retiring to New Caledonia on 13 September for replenishment. From there she proceeded to Samoa before returning to Ndeni, Santa Cruz, with a reconnaissance party of marines on board. Returning to New Caledonia, Hovey departed 10 October with two PT boats in tow and 127 drums of aviation gasoline on board, which she delivered to Tulagi two days later. Hovey continued escort duty between Guadalcanal and Espiritu Santo, until she returned to San Francisco 19 April 1943 for overhaul. She joined a convoy out of Mare Island on 31 May for New Caledonia, arriving 10 August. She then resumed her escort and patrol duties until 30 October when she joined Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson's III Amphibious Force for the Cape Torokina landing on 1 November 1943. For the next week during the seizure of Empress Augusta Bay, Hovey operated with the invasion forces, screening transports and making pre-landing sweeps. Hovey continued screening and escort duties in the Solomons until 5 April 1944 when she escorted from Tulagi to Majuro, Marshall Islands. She returned to Espiritu Santo on 11 April and on the 20th joined Task Unit 34.9.3 (Captain Kane in ) delivering replacement planes to other carriers at Manus. The task unit rendezvoused 29 April with Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 58) to furnish replacement planes for the first strikes on Truk. Proceeding to Florida Island, Hovey departed for the U.S. West