On 3 September 1939 at the start of hostilities, "Revenge" formed part of the Channel Fleet based at Portland. Shortly after the outbreak of the war, the merchant ship was disguised as HMS "Revenge" to deceive German aircraft. On 1 October "Revenge" was ordered to prepare to take up convoy escort duties in the South Atlantic, because of the threat posed by the German "pocket battleship", ; however, on 5 October 1939, in a change of orders, she was attached to the North Atlantic Escort Force based at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Fulfilling another urgent need at the same time, "Revenge" and her sister were to carry gold bullion to Canada, which was needed by the Anglo-French Purchasing Board in New York, to pay for arms bought from the United States. 148 boxes of gold bars, worth a total of £2 million, were loaded onto each battleship at Portland; they departed on 7 October and arrived in Halifax nine days later. After several convoy escorts, "Revenge" was again used to transport gold, this time to a value of £10 million, departing from Plymouth on 28 January 1940. On 7 February, she collided with a small British tanker while a convoy was forming up off Halifax; although damaged, she continued as an escort, returning to Halifax on 18 February for repair.