"Ithuriel" was laid down as "Gayret" for the Turkish Navy by Vickers Armstrong at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 24 May 1939, but taken over by the Royal Navy on the outbreak of the Second World War whilst still under construction. She was launched on 15 December 1940 and commissioned on 3 March 1942. In the Second World War, she took part in Operation Harpoon and Operation Pedestal, the escorting of convoys to Malta in June and August 1942. During Operation Pedestal, she depth charged and rammed Italian submarine "Cobalto", causing the submarine to sink.