 She was launched on 11 November 1943 sponsored by Miss Mary F. Leddy and commissioned on 12 December 1943 with Lieutenant Commander Frederick F. Daly, USNR, commanding.Following shakedown, "Giraffe" put in at Funafuti, Ellice Islands, on 10 February 1944 and subsequently refueled warships at Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Ulithi, and Palau before reaching Okinawa on 21 July 1945.She entered Sasebo, Japan, on 20 November at war's end and served the occupation fleet until departing Yokosuka on 21 February 1946 for Pearl Harbor and Norfolk, Virginia.