Following shakedown in
Chesapeake Bay,
Sagittarius departed
Norfolk on 1 May; transited the
Panama Canal on 9 May; and arrived at
San Diego on 21 May. Ten days later, she put into
Pearl Harbor; and, on 8 June, she sailed for the
Marianas. Arriving at
Saipan on 1 August, she installed harbor defense nets there and at
Tinian until early September. On 4 September, she sailed for
Nouméa,
New Caledonia; took on nets as cargo; and steamed for
Ulithi, where she laid nets from mid-October to mid-November. She then got underway for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 29 November. In December,
Sagittarius continued on to
San Francisco for repairs and alterations at
Mare Island. At the end of January 1945, she headed back to
Hawaii; and, in March, she steamed for Ulithi. Arriving on 2 April, she became flagship of TU 52.8.3; then waited for further routing to the
Ryukyus. Ten days later, the AKN sailed for
Okinawa. She arrived in the
Hagushi anchorage on 18 April; joined TF 51; and, within hours, underwent her first enemy air attack. On 28 April, she splashed her first
kamikaze. On 2 May, she shifted to
Nakagusuku Wan, where, as at Hagushi, the almost daily air raids continued. Despite the interruptions, however,
Sagittarius conducted net laying operations until 26 May. On 27 May, having downed her second kamikaze and assisted in destroying a third, she headed for Pearl Harbor. Steaming via the Marianas, she exploded a drifting Japanese mine one day out of
Saipan, on 4 June. On 17 June, she arrived at Pearl Harbor only to depart again, laden with nets, on 8 July. From 24 July to 9 August, she conducted net operations at Ulithi, then returned to Pearl Harbor. Arriving after the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific,
Sagittarius steamed west again in mid-September; took on reclaimed nets at Ulithi; transported them to Saipan; then headed back to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco. She arrived at the latter on 19 November; and, in December, continued on to the east coast for inactivation.
Sagittarius was decommissioned at Norfolk on 16 January 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission three days later. Her name was struck from the
Navy List on 7 February 1946.
Sagittarius was scrapped in 1972. ==Awards==