The ship was transferred to Norway in April where she escorted convoys; with her sister and a pair of torpedo boats, she escorted the heavy cruiser and the replenishment oiler "Dithmarschen" to Narvik on 9 May. "Z28" took part in the preliminaries of Operation Rösselsprung, an attempt to intercept Convoy PQ 17 in July. "Admiral Scheer" and her sister "Lützow" formed one group in Narvik with "Z28" and four of her sisters while the battleship and "Admiral Hipper" composed another. While en route to the rendezvous at the Altafjord, "Lützow" and three destroyers of "Tirpitz"s escort ran aground, forcing the entire group to abandon the operation. She participated in Operation Zarin, a minelaying mission off the coast of the island of Novaya Zemlya from 24 to 28 September, together with "Admiral Hipper", and her sisters , , and "Z30". On 1 October, "Z28" escorted "Admiral Hipper" from Altafjord to Bogen Bay and then "Tirpitz" and "Admiral Scheer" to Trondheim on the 24th. She continued on to Kiel, Germany, to begin a refit.