She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis, before returning to her duty station where she remained until mid-1939.

Duchess carried a maximum of 473 long tons (481 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 5,870 nautical miles (10,870 km; 6,760 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[4] Duchess was ordered on 2 February 1931 under the 1930 Naval Estimates and was laid down at the yards of the Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow, County Durham on 12 June 1931.

The ship was initially assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean and made a brief deployment to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea in September–November 1933.

The ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in the Red Sea from September to November during the Abyssinian Crisis.

During a typhoon at Hong Kong on 2 September 1937, a merchant ship crushed Duchess's stern when it dragged its anchors.