the minesweeper thus put into action part of the troops slated to occupy the Russells. On 21 February 1943, Operation Cleanslate commenced but encountered no opposition from the enemy, who had only recently evacuated the islands. As Vice Admiral George C. Dyer wrote in his biography of Admiral Richmond K. Turner The Amphibians Came to Conquer "'Cleanslate' went off with precision, but without fanfare or publicity." For Zane, her next amphibious operation was Operation Toenails, the assault and occupation of New Georgia. Zane and comprised TU 31.1.1, the "Onaiavisi Occupation Unit." Each picked up a company of the Army's 169th Infantry Regiment and an LCVP in the Russells on 29 June and headed for their objective, the two small islands guarding the most direct approach to Zanana Beach on New Georgia Island. That beach was slated to be the jump-off point for the flanking attack on strategic Munda airfield. Bad weather (low ceilings, moderate showers with corresponding poor visibility, shifting and gusty winds, and choppy seas) hampered "Toenails" from the start; but Zane and Talbot reached the Onaiavisi channel entrance at around 0225 on 30 June to begin their task. However, shortly before 0300, Zane grounded during a heavy rain squall while disembarking her troops. Nevertheless, the mishap did not hamper the landing process; for both Zane and Talbot succeeded in putting both companies of the 169th Regiment ashore without loss on Dume (later known as Sasavele Island) and Baraulu Islands to hold the Onaiavisi entrance until the shore-to-shore movement could commence to Zanana Beach. Zane remained aground forward until 0523, when she finally managed to back free. However, the high-speed minesweeper grounded aft almost immediately, damaging her propellers. Again she tried using her own power to get free but, despite aid by Talbot, could not do so. Zane's predicament was far from good: she was a sitting duck, only five miles from Japanese-held Munda airstrip. Providentially, as Admiral Dyer recounts, "no alert Japanese artillery man hauled up a battery to take Zane under fire." After some four hours, pulled Zane off the rocks. The fleet tug (a former minesweeper herself) then took Zane back to the Solomons for repairs, arriving at Tulagi on 2 July. After enough temporary patching to permit the ship to leave Guadalcanal under her own power, Zane headed via Espiritu Santo and Pearl Harbor to the Mare Island Navy Yard for permanent repairs and alterations.