until 1 April 1940. On 1 April 1940, set sail for the Philadelphia Navy Yard before getting underway for the Caribbean. She entered San Juan, Puerto Rico, then proceeded to Guantánamo and Havana, before returning again to Philadelphia, 5 May. On 28 May, Omaha would return to Norfolk, before leaving on 22 June, for Lisbon, Portugal, and her new assignment as flagship of the temporary Squadron 40-T, which had been formed to protect US civilians and interests in Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. Omaha was to relieve her sister ship in Lisbon. As Tenton, returning to the US, and Omaha passed each other upon her arrival the two crews cheered and waved. Omahas band played "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" while Trentons musicians responded with "Empty Saddles (in the Old Corral)". Omaha remained near Lisbon, during her service as flagship, until early October 1940, when the squadron was disbanded. On 3 October, she set sail for her return to the US. Omaha visited Monrovia, Liberia, on 10 October. During her stay the necessary conditions for modern military training and equipment for the Liberian Frontier Force were set aboard Omaha at a meeting of the US admiral David McDougal LeBreton with the Liberian Secretary Clarence Simpson. Her final stop was Pernambuco, Brazil, on 14 October, before making way for NOB the next day, where she arrived 23 October, and remained through 7 November. From November 1940 until February 1941, Omaha was again in the Caribbean for more tactical and gunnery exercises. In February 1941, she entered the New York Navy Yard for overhaul and the installation of a radar system, her first. Omaha got underway 28 April 1941, but engine trouble soon developed and she was forced to return to Brooklyn, for repairs to her No. 4 turbine until 25 June. Task Force (TF) 3, which was at the time commanded by RADM Jonas H. Ingram, had initiated patrol operations out of the ports of Recife and Bahia, Brazil, on 15 June 1941. Omaha, along with three of her sisters, were among the resources that were available for Ingram's Southern Atlantic operations, along with five destroyers. On 30 June, with the propulsion and engineering issues having been resolved, Omaha steamed out of Brooklyn, to begin her Neutrality Patrols between Brazil and Ascension Island, which was part of the British Overseas Territories at the time. Omaha was tasked with