leave was delayed by a speech from Menzies that same day that was not well-received. In addition to the required repairs, the Type 286 radar was removed and two quadruple 0.5-inch machinegun mounts were reinstalled on her quarterdeck. She also probably received four 20-millimetre Oerlikon AA guns in single mounts installed on the superfiring turrets' roofs and in the superstructure near the bridge. Bowyer-Smith was relieved of his command and sent back to Britain on 1 September and Captain Hector Waller assumed command on 24 October. Completion of the refit at Cockatoo Island was delayed by a month after a fire melted the electrical cables leading to the director-control tower on the roof of the bridge; on 24 November the ship conducted her full-power sea trials. After the refit's completion, Perth and the heavy cruiser steamed on 12 December from Sydney to Brisbane. Three days later, they met with the light cruiser , and formed up as the heavy escort for the Pensacola Convoy. Perth continued convoy escort duties in home waters until the end of January 1942. Perth was scheduled to remain in eastern home waters within the ANZAC Area while the Canberra underwent refit. The War Cabinet agreed to meet a request by the United States for deployment of Perth to the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Area immediately and, in doing so, escort a convoy proceeding to ABDA. On 31 January Perth sailed from Sydney, reaching Fremantle, Australia, on 10 February and relieved the old light cruiser on 15 February as escort for the convoy of four empty oil tankers and two cargo vessels on a mission to claim as much oil from the Dutch East Indies as possible before the Japanese invaded. After Singapore was captured (endangering the destination port of Palembang), all but Perth and the cargo vessel were ordered to return to Fremantle. Although joined en route by the Dutch ships and , the operation was cancelled on 21 February, when the ships were from the Sunda Strait, separating Java and Sumatra. Perth escorted the three other vessels back to within of Fremantle before turning north to join ABDA's Western Strike Force. She arrived at Tanjung Priok, Java, on 24 February and was not damaged by a Japanese air raid later in the day. Battle of the Java Sea After a Dutch reconnaissance aircraft spotted the Japanese Eastern Invasion Fleet on the 25th, heading to their landing