In 1940, she was given to the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (HKRNVR) and replaced HMS Cornflower as the headquarters of the unit.

[3] In March 1940, Tai Hing was turned over to the HKRNVR by Sir Ho Tung, where she would be loaned to for the duration of the war and three months thereafter.

[6][7] On 26 September, Cornflower was formally transferred to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in a ceremony attended by Sir Ho Tung and acting governor Edward F.

[8] During the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, the ship remained moored southwest of Kellett Island under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Richard J.D.

On 20 August 1944, she was bombed and sunk in the South China Sea off Hong Kong by Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft of the United States Fourteenth Air Force.