During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship enforced the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides as part of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Ivanhoe was transferred to Western Approaches Command shortly after the war began and helped to sink one German submarine in October 1939.

Ivanhoe reverted to her minelaying role during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940 and then laid a number of minefields off the Dutch coast during the Battle of the Netherlands in May.

The turbines developed a total of 34,000 shaft horsepower (25,000 kW) and were intended to give a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph).

[2] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[8] She was assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning and participated in training exercises with the French Navy from December to January 1938.

The ship was forced to leave these exercises prematurely as she had problems with the tubes in her superheaters, that were replaced at Malta from 15 January – 19 March.

She was in Cartagena from February to March 1939 to protect British citizens and interests as foreigners, Republican troops and their supporters evacuated the city.

The ship was present during, but played no significant part in, Renown's brief Action off Lofoten with the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on 9 April.

Three nights later, the same three ships, reinforced by Intrepid, Impulsive, and the auxiliary minelayer Princess Victoria laid a minefield off the Dutch coast.

Princess Victoria struck a German mine on the voyage home and was sunk; the destroyers rescued the ship's survivors.

That night, she sailed with Intrepid, Icarus, Esk and Express to lay a minefield off the Dutch coast, north of Texel.

Around 08:00, four motor torpedo boats arrived; three of these loaded all but 37 men of the ship's crew while the fourth stayed with the destroyer to recover the remaining crewmen.

Early in the afternoon, she lost all power to her pumps and the captain ordered the ship abandoned after opening her valves to speed her sinking.