She was launched on 15 March 1941 but on 15 April during an air raid on Harland and Wolff's yards Bryony was sunk by a direct hit.

She left Belfast, crossing the Irish Sea to Tobermory in Scotland to undergo a two-week work and training exercise period, after which she sailed to Gladstone Dock, Liverpool, where she would be based until June 1943.

By 12 September a long-range Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor aircraft had detected and begun to shadow the convoy, directing German U-boats to the scene.

Eventually seven U-boats were shadowing the convoy; these were for the moment kept at bay by Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft and the escorts.

Bryony returned to home waters and continued to serve as an escort and patrol vessel off the coast and in the North Sea.