She served several times on the International Ice Patrol, operating out of New York City and Halifax, Nova Scotia, to locate icebergs which might be hazardous to navigation.

Her most frequent bases of operation during that period were Key West and Tampa, Florida; the USRC Depot at Arundel Cove, and New York City.

[7] During the next four months, she received heavier armament by trading her three six-pounders for two three-inch (76 mm), a pair of machine guns, and depth charge throwers and racks.

[3] Ordered to duty overseas, the warship departed New York on 29 September in company with Paducah, USS Hubbard, and five French-manned, American-made submarine chasers in tow.

During that time, she was assigned ocean escort duty protecting convoys from German submarines on the route between Gibraltar and the southern coast of England.

According to the submarine war diary entry, the U-boat dived and maneuvered into an attack position, firing one torpedo out of the stern tube at 2015 from a range of about 550 meters (600 yd).

[12] Alerted by the convoy flagship, whose radio operator reported having felt the shock of an underwater explosion at about 2045, search and rescue efforts over the succeeding three days turned up only some wreckage, clearly identified as coming from Tampa, and a single unidentified body.

On Veterans Day, 11 November 1999, the 111 crewmen of Tampa were posthumously presented with the Purple Heart by Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater in ceremonies held at Arlington National Cemetery.