Seeschlacht bei Punta Stilo
Off Namsos, Norway, on 30 April 1940 the sloop was mistaken for a cruiser and was badly damaged by German Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers and had to be sunk by "Janus". "Janus" served in the North Sea until May 1940 and had participated in over 20 convoy duties in that time. From May 1940 "Janus" began Mediterranean duties with the 14th Destroyer Flotilla in Alexandria. She participated in the Battle of Calabria in July 1940 and the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941, and in the action off Sfax in April 1941.