The minesweeper was laid down for the Royal Navy by Richards Ironworks at Lowestoft, England.

The ship was purchased by Australia in 1961 and commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Hawk on 18 July 1962.

Hawk was one of several Australian warships deployed to Malaysia to protect the nation during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.

She became the second Australian minesweeper to see action during the Confrontation on 13 March 1966, when she came under fire from an Indonesian shore battery while patrolling off Raffles Light.

Eleven high explosive rounds were fired at the ship, some landing within 200 yards (200 m) of the vessel, before Hawk withdrew from the area at speed.