She rendezvoused with Force H four days later and launched the aircraft on the morning of 17 November. Eight of the Hurricanes ran out of fuel en route due to headwinds and one Skua was forced to crash land on Sicily after it had been damaged by Italian flak. In mid-December, the ship embarked six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of 821X Squadron for delivery to Gibraltar and another pair of Swordfish from 825 Squadron for self-defence. The carrier rendezvoused with "Furious" and Convoy WS-5A before the combined force was discovered by the on 25 December, but little damage was inflicted by "Hipper" before she was driven off by the escorts. No air strike could be flown against the German cruiser because the Swordfish were embarked in "Argus" with bombs that they could not carry and the torpedoes were aboard "Furious". After "Furious"s Skuas had flown off to search for "Hipper", space was cleared to allow "Argus" Swordfish to load the torpedoes, but the Skuas could not locate "Hipper" because of the poor visibility. "Argus" delivered 821X Squadron to Gibraltar and was back in the United Kingdom by 14 January 1941. In March, the carrier loaded a dozen Hurricane IIs and three Skuas and delivered them to Gibraltar on 29 March, where they were loaded onto "Ark Royal" and flown off to Malta a few days later. She returned to the United Kingdom on 11 April and loaded six replacement Swordfish as well as six Swordfish of 812 Squadron for self-defence. After a brief refit, "Argus" sailed on 14 April for Gibraltar to transfer the replacements to "Ark Royal". She arrived on 24 April and began a two-week refit after the aircraft were transferred. The ship was back in the United Kingdom, loading another batch of Hurricanes bound for Gibraltar. Three Fulmars of 800X Squadron were also embarked to protect the ship against the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors that patrolled the Bay of Biscay and the Eastern Atlantic. The carrier arrived on 31 May and disembarked all her aircraft, including 800X Squadron. On her return to the United Kingdom she began a refit. In late August to early September, "Argus" transported 24 Hurricanes of No. 151 Wing RAF to Murmansk, Russia. She then ferried a dozen Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers of 828 Squadron to Gibraltar on 30 September for eventual delivery to Malta.