 The ship returned to Germany in early 1941 for a refit and was transferred to Norway in June 1941 as part of the preparations for Operation Barbarossa , the German invasion of the Soviet Union . Richard Beitzen spent some time at the beginning of the campaign conducting anti @-@ shipping patrols in Soviet waters , but these were generally fruitless . She escorted a number of German convoys in the Arctic later in the year . The ship escorted several German heavy cruisers at the beginning and end of their anti @-@ shipping raids in 1942 . She participated in the Battle of the Barents Sea when Convoy JW 51B was attacked on 31 December 1942 near the North Cape , Norway . 
