The ship took part in the preliminaries of Operation Rösselsprung, an attempt to intercept Convoy PQ 17 in early July. "Lützow" and her sister formed one group in Narvik with "Z24" and four of her sisters while "Admiral Hipper" and the battleship 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. On 12 July "Z24" escorted one of the damaged destroyers to Kiel and then began a lengthy refit at Wesermünde that lasted until January 1943.