On 10 December, the ship carried the Westland Whirlwinds of 848 Squadron to Singapore, arriving on 8 January 1953. She arrived back at Portsmouth on 11 February and then embarked part of the 100 Grumman Avengers transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act in Norfolk, Virginia, on 16 March. She arrived back in Norfolk to load the remaining aircraft on 29 April. "Perseus" was fitted with temporary grandstand seating ("bleachers") in June for Very Important Persons and the press during Elizabeth II's Coronation Fleet Review in Spithead. Later in the year she made a trip transporting troops and equipment to the Far East.