The main armament was controlled by a director Mark VI fitted with Radar Type 275 on the bridge and a director CRBF (close range blind fire) aft with Radar Type 262 providing local control for 'X' turret on aft arcs.

[3] They were designed to ship three twin 40 mm /60 Bofors mounts STAAG Mark II, but the midships one was later replaced by the lighter and more reliable twin Mount Mark V. This meant that the 'Darings' could engage two targets at long range and two at close range under fully automatic radar directed-control, an enormous improvement over their predecessors.

The boilers utilised pressures and temperatures (650 psi (45 bar), 850 °F (454 °C)) hitherto unheard of in the conservative Royal Navy, allowing great improvements in efficiency to be made without increasing weight.

The Royal Navy ships were built in two groups, one with the traditional DC electrical system (Daring, Dainty, Defender and Delight) and the remaining ships (Decoy, Diamond, Diana and Duchess), with a modern AC system.

The Royal Australian Navy initially ordered four Daring-class destroyers, which were to be named after the ships of the "Scrap Iron Flotilla" of World War II.

[6] To compensate for this, the RAN unsuccessfully attempted to purchase two of the 'Darings' under construction in the United Kingdom, and considered acquiring ships from the United States Navy despite the logistical difficulties in supplying and maintaining American vessels in a predominately British-designed fleet.

[7] Eight further Daring-class destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy were cancelled on 27 December 1945: Danae, Decoy, Delight, Demon, Dervish, Desire, Desperate and Diana.

[9] In 1958, the 'DC' group had their after torpedo tubes removed and replaced with a deck house providing additional accommodation facilities.

[citation needed] Between 1962 and 1964, the 'DC' group had their STAAG mounts replaced by the Mark V also, with the final set of torpedo tubes being removed at the same time.

On the night of 10 February 1964, HMAS Voyager crossed the bows of the aircraft carrier Melbourne and was rammed and sunk with the loss of 81 RAN personnel and one civilian contractor.

[18] The British 'Darings' received little modernisation, and were all decommissioned as obsolete and requiring crews that were too large compared with frigates in 1968–1970.

An unidentified Daring-class destroyer played the fictional "HMS Sherwood" in the 1957 A. E. Matthews film comedy Carry On Admiral.

There are a number of profile shots of the ship in Portsmouth dockyard, as well as detailed views above and below decks, and an interesting sequence showing the accidental firing of a torpedo at the admiral's barge.