"Lotus" commissioned in May 1942, and was assigned to escort duty on the Arctic convoy route. In June she sailed with the ill-fated Convoy PQ 17. After the convoy scattered, "Lotus" accompanied "Pozarica" and several other ships to Novaya Zemlya, before setting out on her captain's initiative to search for survivors. She was able to rescue 38 men from , including Jack Dowding, the convoy commodore, and 29 from the US-American , that had been disabled by German bombers. Returning to Matochkin, "Lotus" and her companions escorted the eight ships there to Archangel, arriving on 11 July, although two were sunk by aircraft before reaching port. From Archangel, and with two other ships under the leadership of Comm. Dowling, "Lotus" helped to find and escort six more ships in the White Sea, and brought them to Archangel. She returned to Britain in September 1942 with Convoy QP 14.