by may, "ihn" was flagship of captain fritz berger of the 5th destroyer flotilla and she was assigned to escort "tirpitz" during operation rösselsprung (knight's move), the attack on the russia-bound convoy pq 17. the ships sailed from trondheim on 2 july for the first stage of the operation, although all three of the other destroyers assigned to "tirpitz"s escort ran aground in the dark and heavy fog and were forced to return to port for repairs. "tirpitz", the heavy cruiser and "ihn" arrived at altafjord on 4 july, but they were recalled shortly after sortieing on the 5th and never engaged any allied ships. she escorted "galster", one of the destroyers that had run aground, back to germany on 12 july.