 She was commissioned 22 May 1942 at Alameda, California, Lieutenant (junior grade) F. J. George, USNR, in command.After loading equipment at the Net Depot at Tiburon, California, "Catalpa" sailed 24 May 1942 for the Fiji Islands, arriving 14 June.At Nandi, Suva, and during October and November 1942 at Funafuti in the Ellice Islands, "Catalpa" laid and cared for harbor entrance nets, protecting important South Pacific Ocean bases.