Her refit was completed in late January 1941, but she was trapped by thick ice so that she could not reach Gotenhafen to work up until mid-February. "Ihn" returned to France in April where she was based at La Pallice. There she was primarily occupied with escorting returning commerce raiders, warships and supply ships through the Bay of Biscay to bases in France. These included the raider "Thor" on 22 April, the supply ship "Nordland", and the fleet oiler "Ermland" in late May. The heavy cruiser was escorted to Brest in early June after separating from the battleship during Operation Rheinübung. "Ihn" sailed from Brest on 27 July for another refit and was ineffectually attacked by British motor torpedo boats (MTB) off Calais that same day.