She was named after Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant (Spanish Teniente de navío) José Luis Díez y Pérez Muñoz.

On 20 April 1937, she was involved in a friendly fire incident when her anti-aircraft guns shot down flying ace Felipe del Río's Polikarpov I-15.

At the request of the Republican government, the ships embarked more than 200 sailors of the auxiliary navy from Euzkadi to replace their original crews, who had been deemed untrustworthy.

José Luis Díez then took refuge in Falmouth, England where, among others, the commander, the engine room chief and the navigator deserted.

She then used her strong resemblance to a British destroyer as part of a ruse in an attempt to break the blockade of the Gibraltar Strait and return to the Mediterranean Sea in June 1938.

[1] The Republican consul Francisco Barnés Salinas had difficulty obtaining permission from the British authorities for the sailors to disembark, which was only allowed under tight restrictions, and repairs had to be made clandestinely.