Following the style of her sister ships she was named for an ethnic group, in this case the Ashanti people of the Gold Coast in West Africa.

[4] During her sea trials Ashanti made 37.4 knots (69.3 km/h; 43.0 mph) from 45,031 shp (33,580 kW) at a displacement of 2,020 long tons (2,050 t).

[6] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,700 nautical miles (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[7] The primary armament of the Tribal-class destroyers was eight quick-firing (QF) 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in four superfiring twin-gun mounts, one pair each fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear.

[8] Low-angle fire for the main guns was controlled by the director-control tower (DCT) on the bridge roof that fed data acquired by it and the 12-foot (3.7 m) rangefinder on the Mk II Rangefinder/Director directly aft of the DCT to an analogue mechanical computer, the Mk I Admiralty Fire Control Clock.

[12] To increase the firing arcs of the AA guns, the rear funnel was shortened and the mainmast was reduced to a short pole mast.

[13] Authorized as one of nine Tribal-class destroyers under the 1936 Naval Estimates,[14] Ashanti was the first ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.

Launched on 5 November 1937, Ashanti was commissioned on 21 December 1938 at a cost of £340,770 which excluded weapons and communications outfits furnished by the Admiralty.

During the visit, the ship's company was presented with a silver bell and a gold shield by the Asantehene, the ceremonial leader of the Ashanti, then the Chief Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II.

It was in preparation for the threat of war in Europe and for British seamen to make friends with their future allies of the French Navy.

Although the submarine was found still intact, salvage attempts failed and only four men were saved when the ship sank with the remaining 99 trapped within.

[19] The 6th Flotilla combined operations with the Home Fleet with convoy escort duties, escorting Convoy HX 1, consisting of the troopships Aquitania, Empress of Britain , Empress of Australia, Duchess of Richmond and Monarch of Bermuda, carrying troops of the 1st Canadian Division to Britain.

On 10 August, she helped other naval vessels and trawlers rescue more than 300 survivors from the armed merchant cruiser HMS Transylvania which had been sunk earlier that day by the German submarine U-56 some 40 miles to the north of the Ulster coast.

She, along with the other Tribal-class destroyers, were later re-equipped for this role, with insulation around vital areas to prevent cold weather damage.

Ashanti was an escort for the Arctic convoy PQ 18 to the Soviet Union which was attacked by numerous U-boats and German aircraft.

She remained in the Mediterranean Sea until June 1943, when more problems with her feedwater tanks required a major re-fit in the Thames commercial shipyard in the United Kingdom.

For the invasion, she patrolled the channel and guarded against German surface ships in the Southwest Approaches and the Bay of Biscay area.

The Kriegsmarine ship Z32 was driven ashore and wrecked, Z24 was severely damaged and ZH1, the ex-Dutch destroyer Gerard Callenburgh, was sunk.