[1] The Hunt class was meant to fill the Royal Navy's need for a large number of small destroyer-type vessels capable of both convoy escort and operations with the fleet.

[6][7] Airedale was laid down at the Clydebank shipyard of the shipbuilders John Brown & Company on 20 November 1940 was launched on 12 August 1941 and was completed on 8 January 1942.

[1][8] Airedale joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow for workup after commissioning, and on 14 February 1942 left Kirkwall in Orkney as part of the escort of the Arctic convoy PQ 11 on the first stage of its journey to Murmansk in Northern Russia.

[9][11] On 10 May, the 14th Destroyer Flotilla (Jackal, Jervis Kipling and Lively) set out from Alexandria to intercept an Italian convoy sailing from Italy to Benghazi.

[13] Airedale, along with sister ships Beaufort, Dulverton and Hurworth and the destroyers Sikh and Hasty, were ordered out from Alexandria to escort Jervis and Jackal to the port.

[15][17] Air attacks continued on 15 June, with the cruiser Birmingham being damaged by a bomb, and then at about 15:20, twelve Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers of StG 3.