[1] The ship is named for Rear Admiral Edward Walter Eberle, who commanded the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets and was Chief of Naval Operations from 1923 to 1927.

After training in the Caribbean and along the East Coast, Eberle was assigned to patrol duty off Bermuda until the end of August 1941, when she began to escort convoys to Newfoundland, Iceland and far northern bases.

Eberle sortied from Norfolk 25 October 1942 for the invasion of North Africa, and gave bombardment and fire support for the landings at Mehedia, French Morocco on 8 November.

The remaining seven persisted in their efforts to save Karin and obtain information until fire and further explosions forced them to abandon ship.

After overhaul at Charleston, Eberle returned to escort duty, making five voyages to north African ports between 13 April 1943 and 31 January 1944.

A landing force took 58 prisoners of war whose escape boats had been destroyed by Eberle's fire, 14 more Germans surrendered the following day.

After overhaul and training she sailed from New York 8 June for the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 20 July to join the aircraft carrier Antietam for plane guard duty.