Six days later she departed the east coast for Scapa Flow and arrived in Orkney on 4 April to commence operations with the British Home Fleet.

Delayed en route to allow time for the clearance of wreckage from her port of destination, her group delivered its charges with their reinforcement troops and equipment to Casablanca on the 18th.

On the 10th she sailed for Oran, Algeria, with TF 60; and, between the end of May and July, she was employed on hunter-killer (HUK), antisubmarine (ASW), and convoy escort assignments in North African waters.

The struggle to save the ship continued for over 36 hours, but, in the evening of 14 September, Plunkett, on orders, fired on and sank the hulk.

North Africa–Naples convoys, interspersed with fire support missions, continued until 21 January 1944, when she sailed to escort the follow-up assault group to Cape Anzio.

The glider bombs finally dropped, at 200 yards (180 m) distance, but more planes had joined the foray to commence a sustained 17 minute battle.

The bomb killed 23, left 30  missing, with as many, and more, wounded, and caused extensive damage to her fire control apparatus, armament, and port engine.

[1][2][3] In July, Plunkett returned to the Mediterranean to prepare for another assault landing, and on 13 August, she sailed from Naples to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France.

She next added fire support and shore bombardment off St. Tropez, Port de Bouc, and Marseilles to her mission, and continued those duties, particularly on the Italian-French border, until 23 November.

Plunkett engaged in training exercises, ASW patrols, and experimental testing until early May, when she resumed transatlantic escort work.

She remained there until reactivated and transferred, under the loan provisions of the Military Assistance Program, to the Nationalist Chinese government, 16 February 1959.