The second USS Stallion was laid down on 26 October 1944 at Orange, Texas, by the Levingston Shipbuilding Co. as ATA-193; launched on 24 November 1944; and commissioned on 1 February 1945.

On the following day, she towed Army barges to New Orleans and, after a five-day stay, got underway for the Panama Canal.

In addition to Kuwait, Bahrain, and Aden, she visited Port Said, Suez, and Karachi during her tour in the Middle East.

For the next three years, the tug was administratively assigned to the 5th Naval District but was operationally controlled by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL), White Oak, Maryland She operated out of Fort Monroe, Virginia, and Port Everglades, Florida, assisting NOL in ordnance evaluation tests.

On 7 March 1955, Stallion was reassigned to the 6th Naval District administratively, but remained under the operational control of NOL.

She participated in mine evaluation tests conducted in the Bahama Islands and along the coast of Florida, particularly around Panama City and Fort Lauderdale.