Following the outbreak of World War II and the entry of the United States into the war, "Pan Kraft" was assigned a delivery of military equipment to the Soviet Union under the US-Soviet lend-lease agreement. With a deck full of planes and cargo holds full of crated aircraft, "Pan Kraft" made the first leg of her journey from New York City to Hvalfjordur, Iceland, where she joined with other merchant vessels and a Royal Navy escort to form Convoy PQ 17. The convoy departed for the Soviet port of Arkhangelsk on June 24, 1942.