Departing New York three weeks later, Kiowa arrived at Falmouth, England, in the United Kingdom on 19 April 1944 as the Allies were in the final planning stages for the invasion of Normandy.

Loaded with firefighting and salvage equipment, Kiowa departed England on 3 June 1944; joining a convoy of tank landing ships (LSTs), she made her way toward the largest amphibious operation of World War II.

Following World War II, Kiowa arrived at Naval Station Argentia in the Dominion of Newfoundland on 21 December 1945 for duty in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Arriving at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on 9 April 1959, Kiowa prepared for an assignment in the Caribbean Sea in support of the United States space program.

From 26 January to 26 February 1966, Kiowa participated in the search for a hydrogen bomb that fell into the Mediterranean Sea off Palomares, Spain, following the crash of a United States Air Force B-52G Stratofortress bomber after a collision with a tanker aircraft.

After this search, Kiowa proceeded to South Wales in the United Kingdom and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico, ultimately arriving home at Little Creek on 16 April 1966.