"Saranac" departed San Pedro on 6 September and joined an underway replenishment group at Purvis Bay, on arrival, on the 28 September. After three sorties from that port to fuel fleet units, she shifted her base to Kossol Roads, Palau, on 19 October in preparation for the amphibious invasion of the Gulf of Leyte in the Philippines. She departed the next day and fueled ships in the transport anchorage off Leyte from 23 to 27 October. Returning to Kossol Roads on 30 October, she sailed the next day for Hollandia, where she arrived on 4 November. After fueling numerous ships in port, she departed Hollandia on 5 December. The oiler suffered a turbine casualty the next day and put into Manus for repairs, which lasted until 21 December. She then returned to Humboldt Bay, but left on the 28 December for permanent engine repairs at Pearl Harbor.