[1] Jupiter was ordered, along with the rest of the J class, on 25 March 1937,[2] and was laid down by Yarrow, Limited, at their Scotstoun, Glasgow shipyard on Clydebank in Scotland on 28 September 1937 and launched on 27 October 1938.

[4] After commissioning, Jupiter underwent sea trials and worked up at Portland, with these activities being delayed by problems with the ship's turbines that required repair at Devonport Dockyard.

[5][a] On 29 November 1941, Jupiter and the destroyer Encounter detached from the Mediterranean Fleet, joined up with Force G at Colombo, and the five ships sailed later that day.

On 1 December, it was announced that Sir Tom Phillips had been promoted to full Admiral, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet.

On 27 February 1942 she struck a mine laid earlier in the day by the Dutch minelayer HNLMS Gouden Leeuw as she steamed with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) cruiser force during the Battle of the Java Sea.