Rear Admiral Bristol – his first visit to Argentia, which he later made his headquarters – but Rear Admiral John H. Towers, the Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, who both arrived separately in planes from VP-56. Both flag officers departed the following morning. Twelve PBY Catalinas of VP-52 arrived at Argentia from Quonset Point on 18 May, and immediately commenced familiarization flights in the region – activities which were suddenly cancelled on 24 May. On that day, the , which had left Norwegian waters shortly before in company with the on what was to be a raiding cruise into the Atlantic, encountered and destroyed the British battle cruiser . An anxious Prime Minister Winston Churchill, concerned over the convoy routes that lay open to the powerful German battleship, immediately cabled President Franklin D. Roosevelt and requested American help. Albemarle quickly refueled the aircraft that had been flying training missions that morning and readied others for the urgent mission. At 14:40 the first group of four PBYs lifted off, followed a little less than three hours later, at 17:20, by a second flight of seven. The pilots of the Catalinas were briefed for a long reconnaissance mission that would take them some southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland. They encountered foul weather and very dangerous flying conditions in the course of their extensive searches, did not find their quarry in the murk, and were compelled by the fog and darkness to seek haven at various bays in Newfoundland, Labrador, Quebec, and adjoining islands. Albemarle remained at Argentia until 12 June, when she sailed for Norfolk, arriving on the 15th. There she loaded supplies, stores, ammunition and gasoline, before getting underway to return to Newfoundland on 20 June. Escorted there by the destroyer , Albemarle touched at Halifax en route (22 June), and then proceeded on to Argentia, screened by MacLeish and , arriving on 24 June. The seaplane tender supported the operations of VP-71, VP-72 and VP-73 until she sailed again for Norfolk on 19 July, in company with . Mooring at Pier 7, NOB Norfolk on the morning of the 25th, she shifted to the Norfolk Navy Yard later that same day and remained there, undergoing an availability, until 12 August. Underway on the day, Albemarle, screened by the destroyer , sailed for Argentia once more, and reach her destination on the 16th, resuming her support of VP-73. She provided