She spent the initial years of her service alternating between the Mediterranean Sea and British waters, before undergoing modifications between 1958 and 1959 and again between 1962 and 1964.

[2][3] The ship was laid down at J. Samuel White's Cowes, Isle of Wight shipyard on 17 December 1945 and was launched on 16 August 1950 and completed on 26 February 1953.

The machinery was rated at 54,000 shaft horsepower (40,000 kW), giving a maximum speed of 34 knots (39 mph; 63 km/h).

[7] 618 tons of oil fuel were carried, sufficient to give a range of 4,400 nautical miles (5,100 mi; 8,100 km) at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h).

[8][9] On commissioning, the four ships with DC electrics, including Dainty, joined the Mediterranean Fleet, forming what would become the 2nd Destroyer Squadron.

[14] Dainty entered refit at Portsmouth[b] on 16 April that year, where her aft set of torpedo tubes was removed, allowing a deckhouse to be added containing additional accommodation, badly needed as the Darings' large crews meant that they were cramped.

[10][17] Dainty recommissioned at Portsmouth in April 1965 as a member of the 23rd Escort Squadron following the refit, serving in the Mediterranean and West Indies.

[11] She was back in home waters on 31 May – 1 June 1966 when she and sister ship Defender and the German frigates Karlsruhe and Braunschweig took part in ceremonies in the North Sea to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland.