She was the lead ship of her class, being laid down as Bittern, but renamed as Enchantress before being launched by Lady Jean Alice Elaine Cochrane.

[2] She was active during the Second World War, serving mainly as a convoy escort, and was a successful anti-submarine warfare vessel, being credited with the destruction of an Italian submarine in 1942.

Laid down as Bittern on 9 March 1934 by John Brown of Clydebank, this ship, the first of her class, was one of a series of general purpose vessels that could be employed as escorts in time of war.

[3] At the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939 Enchantress was allocated to convoy escort duty, coming under the direction of Western Approaches Command.

Returning to the Atlantic in 1943, Enchantress continued escort duty on the Freetown route, until recalled in May 1945 for refit and deployment to the Pacific.