29 October 1943. By 5 November the task force, composed of , , , , Arunta and , was in Milne Bay. In late November, Arunta fired on Japanese ammunition dumps in New Guinea, before providing support for troop landings at Arawe, Cape Gloucester, and Saidor during December 1943 and January 1944. In March, the destroyer transported the United States 7th Cavalry to the Admiralty Islands, before supporting their landing at Hayne Harbour. From April to September, Arunta provided bombardment support for troop landings at Hollandia, Wakde (where she captured a Japanese soldier), Biak, Noemfoor, Cape Sansapor, and Morotai. On 13 October, Arunta formed part of the Allied fleet bound for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, and was part of the Allied ambush of a Japanese fleet on 25 October; the Battle of Surigao Strait. During January 1945, Arunta supported the landings at Lingayen Gulf; during the approach a near-miss by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft killed two sailors. Between 13 and 15 February Arunta and her sister ship sortied from Lingayen Gulf to a point about west of Manila in preparation to rescue the crews of any United States aircraft which were downed while attacking two Japanese battleships and their escorts which were returning to Japan from Singapore, but this proved uneventful as the planned attacks were frustrated by bad weather. Following a refit from March to April, Arunta supported the Australian 6th Division on 10–11 May during their landing at Wewak, then provided shore bombardment to aid the 9th Division's landing at Brunei Bay on 10 June. Later in June, she shelled positions in Luton and Balikpapan, the latter as a precursor to the Allied landing on 1 July. Arunta then returned to Sydney for a refit at Cockatoo Island, and was docked when World War II ended. For her wartime service, Arunta earned the battle honours "Pacific 1942–45", "New Guinea 1942–44", "Leyte Gulf 1944", "Lingayen Gulf 1945", and "Borneo 1945". The ship also carried the honour "Guadalcanal 1942", but it was later determined that she did not qualify. It was later found that the destroyer did not qualify for the Guadalcanal honour, and that her service in the Pacific Theatre started in 1942, requiring the modification of these honours. Arunta operated with task forces of the United States 7th Fleet for most of her wartime career: according to Cassells, the destroyer was one of the most well-known RAN