Guinea, and her air group protected the forces there for several days before returning to Truk on 20 January. The ship then covered the evacuation from Guadalcanal through early February. Jun'yō briefly returned to Japan in February before she sailed for Truk on 22 March together with Hiyō. Her air group was detached to Rabaul on 2 April to participate in Operation I-Go, a land-based aerial offensive against Allied bases in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. Before returning to Truk in the middle of the month, Jun'yōs aircraft claimed to have shot down sixteen American aircraft for the loss of seven A6Ms and two D3As, and they sank the destroyer . The ship's air group was deployed to Buin, Papua New Guinea, on 2 July in response to the American attack on Rendova Island on 30 June. Her fighters claimed 37 victories for the loss of nine aircraft before disbanding on 1 September. Leaving her aircraft behind, the carrier returned to Japan in late July. Jun'yō ferried aircraft to Sumatra in mid-August and troops and equipment to the Caroline Islands in September and October. En route from Truk to Kure on 5 November 1943, Jun'yō was hit off Bungo Suidō by a torpedo from the submarine . Four men were killed, but the damage was light, other than the disabled rudder. The ship was under repair and refit until 29 February 1944 at Kure. Meanwhile, her air group had been reconstituted at Singapore on 1 November with 24 Zeros, 18 D3As and 9 B5Ns. The aircraft transferred to Truk on 1 December and then to Kavieng at the end of December before reaching Rabaul on 25 January 1944. Her fighters claimed 40 Allied aircraft shot down and another 30 probably destroyed, but the air group was virtually annihilated. The survivors were back at Truk on 20 February and the air group was disbanded. In the meantime, the Japanese Navy had restructured its carrier air groups so that one air group was assigned to one carrier division, and the 652nd Naval Air Group was assigned to the 2nd Carrier Division with Hiyō, Jun'yō and Ryūhō on 1 March. The air group was last in priority to be rebuilt and only had 30 Model 21 Zeros, 13 Model 52 Zeros and four D3As on hand on 1 April of its authorized 81 fighters, 36 dive bombers and 27 torpedo bombers. The