As a fire support ship during Central Force landings on 10 July, she silenced enemy shore batteries and screened transports from hostile submarines and planes.

Knight made escort and patrol runs along the Algerian and Tunisian coasts, then returned to Sicily on 31 July to provide fire support for General George Patton's 7th Army.

She operated out of Palermo until 22 August, helping repel several German night-bombing attacks and bombarding targets along the northern coast to Cape d'Orlando.

While on an escort run to Malta on 11 August, she rescued two sailors who were knocked overboard Brant when the salvage repair ship, displaying inadequate recognition signals, was shelled and damaged by friendly gunfire the previous day.

As flagship for Task Group 80.4 (TG 80.4), Knight closed Ventotene Island off Gaeta, Italy on 8 September, and supported the capture of German and Italian troops on the same day.

During the next two weeks she operated along the coast of Italy in search of enemy submarines and supply convoys; and she guarded transports in the Gulf of Salerno from intermittent air attacks.

Her operations between Okinawa and the Japanese home islands continued until 24 February 1946, when she departed Kobe for the United States, arriving at San Francisco 5 April.