HMS Hursley was a Second World War Type II Hunt-class escort destroyer of the British Royal Navy.

[2] The Hunts were meant to fill the Royal Navy's need for a large number of small destroyer-type vessels capable of both convoy escort and operations with the fleet.

[1] On 17 November she was deployed for the defence of the Malta relief Convoy MW 13 in "Operation Stone Age", coming under air attack, but arriving safely on the 19th, and returned to Alexandria on the 21st.

[1] On 14 January 1943, while part of the escort for convoy ME 15, Hursley and the destroyer Pakenham sank the Narvalo, which was returning to Italy from delivering ammunition and fuel to Tripoli.

[26] On 19 February, Hursley was part of the escort for the Alexandria–Tripoli Convoy XT 3, when a Vickers Wellington bomber of 38 Squadron Royal Air Force spotted the German submarine U-562 at periscope depth north-east of Benghazi.

After about an hour, Hursley detected the submarine with her sonar, and the two destroyers carried out a series of depth charge attacks, during which U-562 briefly surfaced and was seen to have a "badly buckled" conning tower.

[1] In May she was deployed in "Operation Retribution", part of the blockade positioned in the Cap Bon area to intercept vessels evacuating enemy troops from North Africa.

[15][29] On 12 May she took part in a landing operation on the Tunisian island of Zembra with Aldenham and Hellenic Navy ship Kanaris, returning to Malta with captured enemy personnel.

[30] In September Hursley was attached to the Levant Flotilla to support military operations in the Dodecanese Campaign to occupy various Italian-occupied Greek islands after the armistice with Italy.

[1][15] On the night of 16/17 October 1943, Hursley, together with the destroyers Jervis, Penn and the Greek Miaoulis, carried out a search for a German convoy.

Hursley and Miaoulis sank the German submarine chaser UJ-2109[c] and the barge F338 and badly damaged the transport Trapani.

[35][36][37] Kriti remained at Anzio into February providing defence for military convoys and fire support for ground troops.

[1] From March to July she returned to normal flotilla duties while based at Algiers, then in August took part in "Operation Dragoon", the invasion of Southern France.

She sailed from Naples on 12 August as part of the escort of Convoy SF2, which comprised 38 LCIs, arriving at "Delta Beach" (Saint-Tropez) two days later.