Accompanied by "Renown" and the 1st Cruiser Squadron, "Repulse" attempted to intercept the as it sailed from Trondheim to Germany in July. Until May 1941, the ship escorted convoys and unsuccessfully searched for German ships. On 22 May, "Repulse" was diverted from escorting Convoy WS8B to assist in the search for the , but she had to break off the search early on 25 May as she was running low on fuel. The ship was refitted from June–August and received eight Oerlikon autocannon as well as a Type 284 surface gunnery radar. "Repulse" escorted a troop convoy around the Cape of Good Hope from August to October and was transferred to East Indies Command.