From its outbreak, Yugoslavia maintained a neutral position towards the war, so in 1940 and 1941 short training cruises could be conducted, but only within the Adriatic, mainly between Dubrovnik and Šibenik. Her last training voyage was undertaken between 1 December 1940 and 28 February 1941. On 27 March 1941, with Yugoslavia likely to be invaded by the Axis powers, "Jadran" was sent to Tivat. Once hostilities broke out, she was to be tasked with transporting troops and supplies between bases within the Bay of Kotor. When the Axis invasion began on 6 April, the ship was anchored off Đenovići within the Bay of Kotor under the command of Captain Anton Vekarić. On full mobilisation, "Jadran"s crew was to number eight officers, 36 petty officers and 108 sailors, but at this time she had only six officers and 80 ratings aboard. Due to "Jadran"s unreliable machine guns, her crew were ordered to engage enemy aircraft with rifles. However, during the invasion, despite Italian air attacks on the Bay of Kotor, "Jadran" was not targeted.