Talita was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract as liberty ship SS Jonathan Jennings (MCE hull 2012) on 23 April 1943 at Portland, Oregon, by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation; launched on 12 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Paul Ryolfson; acquired by the Navy on a bare boat basis from the War Shipping Administration on 5 November 1943; renamed Talita on 13 November 1943; and commissioned on 4 March 1944.

She continued resupply runs from there to Majuro, Eniwetok, Ulithi, and Manus until early March 1945 when she headed for the United States.

Talita arrived at San Francisco on 23 March for an overhaul and sailed one month later for the South Pacific.

After calling at Pearl Harbor, she shuttled supplies between Eniwetok, Ulithi, Leyte, and Manus until 20 September when she sailed for the Ryukyus.

She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 25 February, was decommissioned on 9 April, and towed back to San Francisco for disposal.