The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[4] Their main armament consisted of four QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns in single mounts, in two superfiring pairs in front of the bridge and aft of the superstructure.

[23] Achates, with the rest of the A-class, which was replaced in the 3rd Flotilla by the ships of the I-class, returned to Britain in March 1937 and was paid off at Devonport.

[11][24][25] In October 1937, Achates replaced the destroyer Woolston as parent ship of the 1st Anti-Submarine Flotilla based at Portland.

[11][28] At the start of the Second World War in September 1939, Achates joined the 18th Destroyer Flotilla of Portsmouth Command, carrying out anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties in the English Channel.

[11][29] In July 1940, Achates joined the 16th Destroyer Flotilla, based at Harwich, operating on patrol and escort duties in the North Sea.

Achates's sonar was out of service, however, but continued depth charge attacks from Antelope badly damaged U-31, which surfaced and scuttled herself.

[44][45] Following the loss of Hood, Admiral Wake-Walker, aboard Norfolk, ordered the destroyers to search for survivors, with the two cruisers continuing to shadow the German ships.

[46][47] On 23 July 1941, while the task force to take part in a carrier raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo was assembling off Iceland, Achates struck a British mine and was severely damaged, blowing off the destroyer's bow, including "A" gun, and killing 63 of her crew and injuring 25 more.

Achates was towed to Seyðisfjörður by Anthony and after temporary repairs, left Iceland under the tow of the tug Assurance on 7 August, but a storm on 10 August caused further damage, with longitudinal members fracturing and cracking of upper deck plating, and the ships had to put into Skaglefjord in the Faroe Islands, where further temporary repairs were made.

[49] Achates returned to British waters as part of the westbound convoy QP 13, which left Arkhangelsk on 26 June.

On 8 November 1942, while deployed off Oran, Achates detected, and attacked a Vichy French submarine, which had sortied to contest the Allied landings in the area.

Achates' attack saw the rise of oil to the surface of the sea and huge air bubbles, as well as debris from both inside, and outside the submarine.

[53][b] On 25 December 1942, Achates joined the escort of Convoy JW 51B en route from Loch Ewe to Murmansk.

[56] On 31 December 1942, the convoy was attacked by the German heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Lützow together with six large destroyers in the Battle of the Barents Sea.

[59][60] Achates was damaged by a near-miss from Hipper early in the action, with shell splinters causing flooding, but the destroyer continued to lay smoke.

[61] Despite the damage, Achates continued to lay smoke to protect the convoy, while flooding and the resultant list gradually increased.