[1] Wild Swan was one of seven Modified W-class destroyers that were completed after World War I, out of an original order for 38 ships issued in April 1918.

The ship carried 387 long tons (393 t) of oil giving a range of 3,210 nautical miles (5,940 km; 3,690 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[6] On commissioning, the ship joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet, based at Port Edgar on the Firth of Forth[1] and from March to July 1920, operated in the Baltic.

[11] As a result of the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla was despatched from the Mediterranean to China in order to protect British interests, arriving at Hong Kong on 15 October 1926.

[18] Wild Swan then joined the Local Defence Flotilla at Portsmouth, taking part in the Coronation Fleet Review for King George VI on 20 May 1937.

[1] After her refit, Wild Swan was allocated to the 18th Destroyer Flotilla; however, in January 1940 she participated in trials on degaussing equipment, attached to the torpedo school, HMS Vernon.

Although depth charges brought up an oil slick, it was concluded that the contact was a false alarm, and the ships had been attacking a pre-existing wreck.

[26][27] On 11 March, the German submarine U28 torpedoed the Dutch tanker Eulota and Wild Swan, Winchelsea and the leader Broke were sent to investigate.

She received damage to her starboard propeller while alongside at the Hook of Holland, and on 12 May was near missed by bombs from a German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber which damaged the ship's condensers, before rescuing survivors from the passenger ship Prinses Juliana, which had been sunk by German dive bombers.

[34] On 21 May, Wild Swan was ordered to Boulogne, threatened by advancing German troops, picking up 150 British civilians and ferrying them back to Dover.

[35][36] On 22 May she crossed the Channel to Dunkirk to carry out escort operations, but was diverted to Boulogne to carry out shore bombardment operations against advancing German troops along with the British destroyers HMS Vimy and Keith and the French destroyers Chacal, Cyclone, Bourrasque, Foudroyant, Fougueux, Frondeur, Jaguar, Mistral and Siroco.

Wild Swan entered Boulogne harbour at 20:25 hrs, shortly after Whitshed and Vimiera had left and was followed in by the destroyers Venomous and Venetia.

Wild Swan escorted the ferry Maid of Orleans, carrying drinking water for the trapped troops and the transport Canterbury to Dunkirk on 26 May, picking up General Ralph Eastwood and his staff before returning to Dover.

She was then ordered to Portsmouth for a short refit, where her boilers were cleaned and the aft set of torpedo tubes was replaced by a 12-pounder (i.e. 3-inch (76-mm)) anti-aircraft gun, and two extra depth charge throwers fitted.

[46] The 19th Flotilla was then based at Harwich, escorting convoys in the North Sea, and carrying out anti-invasion patrols, together with offensive strikes against enemy shipping.

[50][51] Later in September, Wild Swan was allocated to Operation Lucid, a plan to convert old oil tankers as Fire ships and use them to attack invasion barges in French ports.

[56] On 9 January Wild Swan was detached from Convoy OB 270 to search for the survivors of the cargo ship SS Clytoneus which had been sunk by a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor long-range bomber the previous day.

[57][58] On 29 January, Wild Swan was returning to Liverpool when she encountered the steamer SS Westmoreland, which had struck a mine earlier that day and had been abandoned by her crew.

[59][60] Wild Swan continued escort operations in the North Atlantic until March 1941, when she underwent a much-needed refit at the Royal Albert Dock in London.

[63] The three destroyers took part in escort duties during the rendezvous of the aircraft carriers Victorious and Ark Royal prior to Operation Tracer, but Wild Swan returned to Gibraltar on 10 June.

She was detached for refuelling, and happened to be passing through a group of Spanish trawlers, when a squadron of 12 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers mistook these vessels as the convoy and attacked them.