During the Second World War the vessel saw service in Operation Neptune in the Bay of Biscay and along the French coast in support of the invasion of Normandy and escorted convoys to the Soviet Union.

Following the war, Huron reverted to a training ship and took part in Cold War-era North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) naval exercises until being paid off for the final time in 1963 and broken up for scrap in 1965.

[3] Canada chose the design based on its armament, with the size and power of the Tribal class allowing them to act more like small cruisers than as fleet destroyers.

Canadian Tribals were a foot longer than their British counterparts and carried an auxiliary boiler for heating and additional power requirements.

[6] The destroyer was propelled by two shafts driven by two Parsons geared turbines powered by steam created by three Admiralty-type three drum boilers.

[3] As built, Huron was fitted with six quick firing 4.7-inch (119 mm) Mk XII guns placed in three twin turrets, designated 'A', 'B' and 'Y' from bow to stern.

[3][6] For secondary anti-aircraft armament, the destroyer was equipped with one quad mount 2-pounder "pom-pom" gun and six single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon.

On 28 November, the destroyer was among the escort of convoy RA 54B returning from the Soviet Union and arriving at Loch Ewe on 9 December.

[15] Huron continued to escort Arctic convoys until February 1944, when she was transferred to the 10th Destroyer Flotilla based at Plymouth to take part in the lead up to the invasion of Normandy.

Within an hour of their arrival, German naval movement was detected, and the following day Huron and sister ship HMCS Haida sailed to relieve destroyers already on patrol.

[20][21] Later that month, on 27 and 28 June 1944, while on patrol with fellow Tribal-class destroyer HMS Eskimo, they intercepted a German detachment composed of a heavily armed minesweeper and two naval trawlers.

[17][22][note 2] On 8 July 1944, Huron and HMS Tartar attacked two naval trawlers before being driven off by coastal artillery.

[23] Rohwer states that Huron and Tartar attacked the German 4th Minesweeping Flotilla off the Channel Islands during the night of 7/8 July.

On 16 April 1945, Huron sailed for Murmansk on one final Arctic convoy to the Soviet Union, returning to Scapa Flow on 6 May 1945.

[27] Huron, Haida and the cruiser HMS Berwick departed Scapa Flow for Trondheim, Norway, calling in fjords with relief supplies.

[11] She arrived in theatre on 15 March 1951 and in early April, Huron and sister ship HMCS Athabaskan screened aircraft carriers on the east coast of Korea while they performed airstrikes on Wonsan.

In late June, the destroyer switched to the east coast, screening carriers and performing shore bombardment and inshore patrol missions.

Huron screened the aircraft carriers HMS Glory and USS Sicily during airstrikes on North Korea, which became known as the "Han River Demonstration" during truce talks in July.

[10] Following her Korean tours she reverted to her training role, taking part in NATO activities until she was paid off into reserve at Halifax on 20 April 1963 and scrapped at La Spezia, Italy in August 1965.

[10][11] The 4-inch (102 mm) twin high-angle Mk XIX naval gun turret was removed from Huron and presented to the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.