After her repairs were completed, "Hotspur" was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet. The ship escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet during the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. In mid-April she escorted the fast transport and three battleships from Alexandria to Malta before going on to escort the battleships as they bombarded Tripoli on 20 April. After refuelling in Alexandria on 23 April, "Hotspur" sailed for Greece to begin evacuating British and Australian troops from the beaches. On 8 May, the ship again escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they covered another convoy from Alexandria to Malta before being detached to escort the light cruiser as she bombarded Benghazi harbour on 7/8 May and sank two Italian merchant ships. During the evacuation of Crete "Hotspur" had to scuttle the destroyer on 29 May after the latter ship's steering had been disabled by a near miss by a bomb.