Following her yearly
navy yard overhaul, and training in Philippine
waters, Augusta visited
Siam French Indo-China, and Singapore en route back
to Shanghai, making port at her ultimate destination
on 30 April 1939. The heavy cruiser, again wearing Admiral
Yarnell's flag, lay at
Shanghai until 8 June, when she got underway for
Chinwangtao. Arriving there on 10 June, the heavy
cruiser subsequently touched at Chefoo (24 to 25
June) and Tsingtao (26 June to 16 July) before she
sailed down to Shanghai, arriving on the 18th.
On 25 July 1939,
Admiral Thomas C. Hart relieved Admiral Yarnell as
CinCAF. The heavy cruiser then sailed for Tsingtao on
2 August. She remained based at that North China
port-she lay moored there on the day war broke out in
Europe with the German invasion of Poland-through
late September 1939. During this period, the ship
twice visited Shanghai (5 to 7 September and 15 to 19
September), and also visited Chinwangtao Chefoo, and
Peitaiho. Late in September, Admiral Hart disembarked
at Chinwangtao and inspected the marine detachments
at Peking and Tientsin.
Returning to Shanghai
on 12 October, Augusta
remained there through mid-November; during this time
Admiral Hart shifted his flag to Isabel and proceeded
up the Yangtze to Nanking on an inspection trip (3 to
7 November 1939). Sailing for the Philippines on 21
November, the heavy cruiser visited Amoy en route (22
to 23 November 1939), and ultimately reached Manila
on 25 November.
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