Laforey was almost immediately reassigned to the Mediterranean, where she joined Force H in escorting a relief convoy to Malta as part of Operation Halberd.

Despite heavy air attacks, the convoy reached Malta on 28 September, and Laforey returned to Gibraltar with the ships of Force X.

In October she was permanently assigned to Force H, to carry out convoy escort duties, and fleet screening patrols.

Laforey made several unsuccessful anti-submarine attacks against suspected sonar contacts, before standing by the stricken carrier.

Later in the day, Laforey ran power cables across to Ark Royal to support damage control measures.

Laforey spent January as part of anti-submarine patrols that had been instigated to intercept U-boats as they passed through the Strait of Gibraltar.

On 1 April Laforey was detached from Force H and sailed to Freetown to screen fleet units and cover convoys in the Atlantic.

She carried out shore bombardments on 2 May and then, together with the destroyers Anthony and Lightning, used buoys to mark the approach channel to the landing areas at Diego Suarez on 4 May.

On 6 May, Laforey and her sisters Lightning and Lookout screened the battleship Ramillies during a search for Japanese warships that had been reported in the area.

On 7 May Laforey covered Anthony as she landed marines and the next day she began a series of anti-submarine patrols that would last until she was detached from the operation on 27 May, when she, Lookout and Lightning sailed for Colombo to join the Eastern Fleet.

Arriving at Mombasa on 1 July, she was initially deployed in the South Atlantic to hunt commerce raiders and escort convoys.

On 19 July she was detached and nominated to rejoin Force H. After sailing around Africa with a number of other capital ships, she arrived at Gibraltar in early August.

She spent October and most of November under refit, followed by a period of post-trial workup exercises with her sister Lightning at Scapa Flow.

In May she was assigned with Force Q to intercept ships attempting to evacuate German troops from Cap Bon after the defeat of the Afrika Korps.

On 8 May she and Tartar captured two merchant ships, but on 9 May Laforey came under fire from shore batteries and was hit in the engine room.

In June she took part in covering the allied landings at Pantelleria (Operation Corkscrew), during which she bombarded enemy positions, before sailing to Alexandria to escort convoys for the planned invasion of Sicily.

On 5 November she came to the assistance of a US merchant ship that had run aground northeast of Augusta, and towed the vessel clear before returning to Malta to refuel.

After replenishing at Naples, Laforey, in company with Loyal and Jervis, joined the escort for the assault convoys of Operation Shingle, the landings at Anzio.

Laforey was briefly detached to assist a Landing Ship, Tank that had run aground at Sabaudio, but was unable to help her.

One survivor was Petty Officer Ronald Sired, who gives an account of life on board and the sinking in "Enemy Engaged", published in 1957.