With the country now at war, "Washington" was assigned as the flagship of Task Force (TF) 39, still under Wilcox's command, which departed for Britain on 26 March. The unit, which included "Wasp" and the heavy cruisers and , were to reinforce the British Home Fleet based in Scapa Flow. The Home Fleet had been weakened by the need to detach units, particularly Force H, to take part in the invasion of Madagascar, and the American battle group was needed to help counter the German battleship and other heavy surface units based in occupied Norway. The next day, while crossing the Atlantic, Wilcox was swept overboard. "Tuscaloosa" and a pair of destroyers searched for the admiral, and "Wasp" sent aircraft aloft to assist the effort, but lookouts on the destroyer spotted him, face down in the water, having already drowned. The search was called off and the task force continued on to its destination. Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, aboard "Wichita", took command of the unit, which was met at sea by the British cruiser on 3 April. The ships arrived in Scapa Flow two days later, where it came under the command of Admiral John Tovey, the commander of the Home Fleet.