"Cepheus" put to sea from Staten Island 27 February 1944, bound in convoy for Liverpool. Although several submarine contacts were reported in the convoy, effective work by the escorts prevented any attacks, and the convoy arrived safely 9 March, with its cargo destined for the Normandy invasion. Joining her assigned division in Scottish waters, "Cepheus" sailed for Oran, where she arrived 6 April to report to the Eighth Amphibious Force. After training exercises along the Algerian coast, she loaded vehicles and troops for the passage to Naples, where she unloaded 19 June to 23 June. After training at Palermo and Salerno, she returned to Naples to offload combat vehicles, then cleared for Castellammare near Palermo to combat load for the invasion of Southern France.