The design reflected developments of the Pacific campaign, including long range and the ability to efficiently Replenish At Sea (RAS).

The Daring class was a logical outcome of the Pacific War, where the ability to stay at sea for long periods was of prime importance.

Diana saw action during the Suez Crisis, when on 31 October 1956, she sank the Domiat, which was engaged in a one-sided gun duel with the cruiser HMS Newfoundland in the Red Sea, marking the last time a ship was sunk by another in conflict using gunfire alone.

[1] As of January 2008, the British Ministry of Defence has refused to pay compensation to the remaining crew of Diana, citing a legal technicality that all such claims must be lodged within three years of the diagnosis to which they refer.

According to newspaper reports, the decision may see the collapse of the claimants' case, or at the least delay the compensation until 2012, at which time more of the ship's crew may have died.

[1] This incident is referred to in the SAS drama Ultimate Force by Ross Kemp's character, SSGt Garvie, who claims his father was a crew member at that time.

On 26 January 1968, Diana was on passage from Gibraltar to Malta when she was ordered to divert to the search for the Israeli submarine Dakar, which had gone missing on her delivery trip from Britain to Israel.

The refit in 1977-78 also saw the streamlining of the funnel which was also raised, the installation of a Selenia NA-10 director aft for the upgraded twin Breda Bardo 40mm gun mounts and the removal of the Squid mortar and sonar.