"Express" and "Electra" were half of the escorts for "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse" as they sailed north on 9 December, but could do little as the Japanese bombers sank the two capital ships other than help to rescue the 3,000-odd survivors. Upon their return to Singapore, they joined "Encounter" and the other destroyers there escorting ships between Singapore and the Sunda Strait. "Electra" and "Encounter" escorted the heavy cruiser during the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February 1942. The former ship was sunk by a Japanese destroyer as she covered "Exeter"s withdrawal. Several days later, "Encounter" and the American destroyer were escorting the damaged "Exeter" en route to Ceylon when they encountered four Japanese heavy cruisers and their escorts. "Encounter" and "Exeter" were sunk in the subsequent battle on 1 March. "Express" did not participate in any of these battles because she'd been damaged by a boiler room fire in early February and her repairs did not begin until April. "Fortune" joined her sister with the Eastern Fleet in February, with "Foxhound" following two months later.