She was the first of only two Royal Navy ships to carry the name Malcolm, although HMS Valkyrie was originally planned to bear the name.

[1] In September 1939, Malcolm was deployed as leader of the 16th Destroyer Flotilla, based at Portsmouth and on antisubmarine patrol of the English Channel and Southwest Approaches.

At the end of the year, she was deployed to the Western Approaches Escort Force for Atlantic convoy defence.

Over the next four days the group fought off further attacks, and on 29 June 1941, Malcolm helped to sink the German U-boat U-651.

On 11 August 1942, she was transferred to Gibraltar and assigned to escort the aircraft carrier Furious from Malta after delivering Spitfires to the besieged island.

She arrived in Arkhangelsk on 21 September 1942 after a seven-day running battle, in which 13 ships were sunk, while 3 U-boats were destroyed and 40 aircraft claimed shot down.

In October she was in Liverpool to have extra armour plating added to her bridge and bow in preparation for the invasion of North Africa.

On 8 November 1942 Malcolm and HMS Broke were part of Operation Terminal: an amphibious assault on the port of Algiers.

Malcolm tried to break through the boom but was hit and severely damaged by a shell fired from the shore.

Ten of her crew were killed, many more were injured and three of her four boilers were extinguished, cutting her speed to 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).