During her Royal Navy service, the ship hosted distinguished guests such as South Vietnamese vice president Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ and Singapore's first native head of state the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof bin Ishak.

Assigned to the Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR) headquartered in Singapore, the first Panglima was later sunk in February 1942 while evacuating British and Australian troops during World War II.

[3] A second Panglima 90 foot (27 m) motor fishing vessel was launched in the United Kingdom on 5 September 1944, but upon its transfer to the MRNVR in 1948, proved unsuited for tropical waters and began deteriorating rapidly.

Shortly afterward, Lady Black launched the ship in accordance with naval tradition by shattering a champagne bottle upon the bow, and Panglima slid into the waters to the fanfare of music.

During the entire event, about 350 United Engineers workers who had built the ship protested outside the gates demanding for higher wages, though they did not disrupt the ceremony.

The Duke of Edinburgh gifted the ships' company six cartons of matchsticks after an officer declined a cigarette during a cocktail party onboard Britannia.

The visit coincided with Queen Elizabeth II's birthday; Panglima and other Republic of Vietnam Navy ships fired a 21-gun salute at noon in her honour on 23 April.

The ship also hosted the South Vietnamese vice president Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ and Navy chief Lê Quang Mỹ.

[16] On 22 February 1959, the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, who was also Admiral of the Fleet, visited Singapore on an official royal tour.

[18] Panglima participated in a mock battle with the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tactician in September 1960, with the former asserting a sea denial stance against its adversary seeking to enter Singapore waters.

Tactician repeatedly evaded detection until sunset, when Panglima established contact and fired "depth charges" and "won" the battle.

[19] On 22 July 1961, Panglima hosted the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof bin Ishak as he reviewed a naval parade put on by the Harbour Division of Singapore Customs.

As Panglima sailed past the Customs fleet of speedboats and launches, they saluted the island's first native head of state by sounding their air horns.

[2] On 1 April 1964, Panglima was on patrol duty off Pedra Branca when the survey ship HMS Dampier operating nearby rescued three Indonesian Chinese from their sinking sampan during a storm.

Dampier's crew pumped the water out of the sampan to make it seaworthy again, and Panglima subsequently towed it back to Singapore.

[30] DBS Land considered purchasing and restoring Panglima as a maritime exhibit or entertainment ship as part of its revitalization plans for Clarke Quay.