 Between December 1942 and March 1943, the submarines searched for blockade runners out of neutral Spanish ports.Starting in April, they patrolled off Norway, Iceland, and then the mid-Atlantic, searching for enemy U-boats and waiting in case the German surface fleet broke out from its Scandinavian bases.On 15 July 1943, "Beaver" sailed for the United States and, after an uneventful passage, arrived in New York later that month.