Following shakedown, Reeves returned to Norfolk and on 16 August got underway on her first transatlantic escort run, a slow convoy to Casablanca.

The following day, Reeves took Donnell (DE-56) in tow after she had been torpedoed, stood by until relieved by tugs, then continued on carrying the damaged escort's more seriously wounded men.

On 23 September she completed her last Atlantic escort mission and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for conversion to a Charles Lawrence-class high speed transport.

Redesignated APD-52 on 25 September, Reeves emerged from the shipyard on 23 December and after amphibious training, headed for the Panama Canal and duty in the Pacific.

Reeves sailed for the United States on 26 November and, after stops in the Volcano, Marshall, and Hawaiian Islands, arrived at San Diego on 23 December.