Until 2 October 1939, Furious remained on training duties, combined with anti-submarine sweeps off the east coast of Scotland.
She was then assigned to the Home Fleet to replace the sunken Courageous and sortied on 8 October with the fleet to hunt unsuccessfully for the Gneisenau and escorting ships which had been spotted off southern Norway.
Furious departed her berth adjacent to the battleship Royal Oak in Scapa Flow for more futile searches for German ships on 13 October, the day before Royal Oak was sunk by U-47 in Scapa Flow.
Furious served as the flagship for the convoy bringing most of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to Britain in mid-December 1939.

Furious joined the Home Fleet off the coast of Norway on 10 April 1940 and her Swordfish made several attacks on German ships in Narvik on the following days.
She refuelled at Tromsø on the 14th and remained behind after the bulk of the Home Fleet departed on 15 April, her aircraft flying reconnaissance missions until ordered home on 25 April.
Her port inner turbine had been damaged by the shock wave from a near miss on 18 April, and the damage was more serious than initially thought.
After quick repairs, Furious returned on 18 May carrying the Gladiators of a reformed 263 Squadron; they were flown off on 21 May once their base at Bardufoss was ready.
She sailed to Scapa Flow once all the Gladiators had been flown off.

On 14 June, carrying only half of 816 Squadron for her own protection, Furious sailed unescorted for Halifax, Nova Scotia carrying £18,000,000 in gold bullion.
On 1 July she escorted a convoy of Canadian troops bound for Iceland from Halifax and ferried over almost 50 aircraft, spare parts and munitions.
On his own initiative, Captain Troubridge ordered all available space should be used for sugar bound for Britain.
She reembarked her aircraft upon her arrival and made a number of air strikes on shipping in Norwegian waters and on the seaplane base at Tromsø through October 1940.
Furious loaded 55 aircraft in Liverpool on 7 November and sailed for Takoradi, Gold Coast, on 15 November where the aircraft were flown off on 27 November to reinforce fighter units defending Egypt.
By 15 December, Furious was back in Liverpool, where she embarked 40 Hurricanes for Takoradi.
She sailed on 21 December and joined up with Convoy WS 5A which encountered the German cruiser Admiral Hipper on 25 December.
The German ship was driven off by the escorts, and Furious reached Takoradi on 10 January 1941.
She arrived in Britain on 5 February where she was given a brief refit.
She made another ferry trip to Takoradi between 4 and 22 March.

Now with a new destination for her ferry trips, Furious transported two dozen Hurricanes to Gibraltar on 25 April where they were transferred to Ark Royal to be flown off for Malta.
She returned for another load of Hurricanes and arrived back in Gibraltar on 18 May. Some of these fighters were moved to Ark Royal via planks between the flight decks of the carriers berthed stern to stern.
This time she accompanied Ark Royal and the two carriers flew off their fighters from a position south of Sardinia.
She would repeat this ferry mission three more times from June to September 1941.
In July and August, Furious and Victorious attacked German installations in the Arctic areas of Norway and Finland with limited success and heavy losses.
Following her last ferry mission she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to refit.

Furious arrived back in the UK in April 1942 and spent the next three months working up.
In August she was detailed to accompany the convoy bound for Malta in Operation Pedestal, but she was to sail with them only far enough to allow her 38 Supermarine Spitfires to reach Malta.
This she did, just as Eagle was torpedoed, but Furious turned around after flying off her fighters and reached Gibraltar successfully.
She loaded another batch of 32 Spitfires on 16 August and they were flown off the following day south-east of the Balearic Islands.
After this mission Furious was sent back to Home Fleet for training.
One last mission
Until 2 October 1939, Furious remained on training duties, combined with anti-submarine sweeps off the east coast of Scotland. She was then assigned to the Home Fleet to replace the sunken Courageous and sortied on 8 October with the fleet to hunt unsuccessfully for the Gneisenau and escorting ships which had been spotted off southern Norway. Furious departed her berth adjacent to the battleship Royal Oak in Scapa Flow for more futile searches for German ships on 13 October, the day before Royal Oak was sunk by U-47 in Scapa Flow. Furious served as the flagship for the convoy bringing most of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to Britain in mid-December 1939.
Furious joined the Home Fleet off the coast of Norway on 10 April 1940 and her Swordfish made several attacks on German ships in Narvik on the following days. She refuelled at Tromsø on the 14th and remained behind after the bulk of the Home Fleet departed on 15 April, her aircraft flying reconnaissance missions until ordered home on 25 April. Her port inner turbine had been damaged by the shock wave from a near miss on 18 April, and the damage was more serious than initially thought. After quick repairs, Furious returned on 18 May carrying the Gladiators of a reformed 263 Squadron; they were flown off on 21 May once their base at Bardufoss was ready. She sailed to Scapa Flow once all the Gladiators had been flown off.
On 14 June, carrying only half of 816 Squadron for her own protection, Furious sailed unescorted for Halifax, Nova Scotia carrying £18,000,000 in gold bullion. On 1 July she escorted a convoy of Canadian troops bound for Iceland from Halifax and ferried over almost 50 aircraft, spare parts and munitions. On his own initiative, Captain Troubridge ordered all available space should be used for sugar bound for Britain. She reembarked her aircraft upon her arrival and made a number of air strikes on shipping in Norwegian waters and on the seaplane base at Tromsø through October 1940. Furious loaded 55 aircraft in Liverpool on 7 November and sailed for Takoradi, Gold Coast, on 15 November where the aircraft were flown off on 27 November to reinforce fighter units defending Egypt. By 15 December, Furious was back in Liverpool, where she embarked 40 Hurricanes for Takoradi. She sailed on 21 December and joined up with Convoy WS 5A which encountered the German cruiser Admiral Hipper on 25 December. The German ship was driven off by the escorts, and Furious reached Takoradi on 10 January 1941. She arrived in Britain on 5 February where she was given a brief refit. She made another ferry trip to Takoradi between 4 and 22 March.
Now with a new destination for her ferry trips, Furious transported two dozen Hurricanes to Gibraltar on 25 April where they were transferred to Ark Royal to be flown off for Malta. She returned for another load of Hurricanes and arrived back in Gibraltar on 18 May. Some of these fighters were moved to Ark Royal via planks between the flight decks of the carriers berthed stern to stern. This time she accompanied Ark Royal and the two carriers flew off their fighters from a position south of Sardinia. She would repeat this ferry mission three more times from June to September 1941. In July and August, Furious and Victorious attacked German installations in the Arctic areas of Norway and Finland with limited success and heavy losses. Following her last ferry mission she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to refit.
Furious arrived back in the UK in April 1942 and spent the next three months working up. In August she was detailed to accompany the convoy bound for Malta in Operation Pedestal, but she was to sail with them only far enough to allow her 38 Supermarine Spitfires to reach Malta. This she did, just as Eagle was torpedoed, but Furious turned around after flying off her fighters and reached Gibraltar successfully. She loaded another batch of 32 Spitfires on 16 August and they were flown off the following day south-east of the Balearic Islands. After this mission Furious was sent back to Home Fleet for training. One last mission 
Courageous-class aircraft carrier