Serving most of her pre-war service at Hong Kong, Grimsby was deployed on convoy escort duties along the East coast of the Britain and in the Mediterranean Sea during the Second World War, and was sunk by dive bombers off Tobruk on 25 May 1941.

[7] The ship was powered by two geared steam turbines driving two shafts, fed by two Admiralty 3-drum boilers.

This machinery produced 2,000 shaft horsepower (1,500 kW) and could propel the ship to a speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).

[11] Grimsby remained on the China station until 1939, her regular duties being punctuated by periodic dockings at Hong Kong or Singapore for refit and repair.

[12] Grimsby underwent a more major refit at Singapore between February and July 1939, after which she was transferred to the East Indies Station, which was responsible for operations in the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

Grimsby and the netlayer Protector then towed the damaged transport HMS Glenearn from Kissamo Bay, Crete to Alexandria.