On 9 January 1942, "Jintsū" departed Davao for the invasion of the Celebes, escorting transports holding the Sasebo No. 1 Combined Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF). On 17 January, a Kawanishi E7K2 "Alf" reconnaissance floatplane launched from "Jintsū" shot down a Dutch Lockheed Hudson light bomber near Menado, but was shot down itself before it could return. In early February, "Jintsū" was assigned to the invasion force for Ambon, followed by both Dutch and Portuguese Timor and eastern Java. On 20 February, while off Alor Island, she unsuccessfully attacked the American submarine .