HMS Daring ( H16 ) HMS " Daring " was a D - class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s . The ship spent the bulk of her career on the China Station . She was briefly commanded by Louis Mountbatten before World War II . " Daring " escorted convoys in the Red Sea in October – November 1939 and then returned to the UK in January 1940 for the first time in five years . While escorting a convoy from Norway , she was sunk by the in February 1940 . Description . " Daring " displaced at standard load and at deep load . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines , driving two shafts , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3 - drum water - tube boilers . " Daring " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 145 officers and men . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre 4 . 7 - inch Mk IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Daring " had a single 12 - pounder ( 3 - inch ( 76 . 2 mm ) ) gun between her funnels and two QF 2 - pounder Mk II guns mounted on the side of her bridge . She was fitted with two above - water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for 21 - inch torpedo es . One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted ; 20 depth charges were originally carried , but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began . Career . " Daring " was ordered on 2 February 1931 under the 1930 Naval Estimates , and was laid down at John I Thornycroft ' s yard at Woolston , Southampton on 18 June 1931 . She was launched on 7 April 1932 and completed on 25 November 1932 , at a total cost of £225 , 536 , excluding equipment supplied by the Admiralty , such as weapons , ammunition and wireless equipment . The ship was initially assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean and made a brief deployment to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea in September – October 1933 . Lord Louis Mountbatten assumed command on 29 April 1934 , and " Daring " was given a refit at Sheerness Dockyard from 3 September to 24 October to prepare the ship for service on the China Station . In December 1934 she sailed to join the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in the Far East and served there until the outbreak of war . Upon the ship ' s arrival at Singapore , Lord Mountbatten was transferred to command and Commander Geoffrey Barnard assumed command . The ship and her sisters , , and were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet shortly before World War II began in September 1939 . " Daring " was kept in the Red Sea for escort and patrol work until November 1939 . She was overhauled in Malta from 25 November to 20 December . The ship escorted the Union - Castle Line ocean liner SS " Dunnottar Castle " to Belfast in early 1940 and under repair at Portsmouth until 25 January . " Daring " joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in Scapa Flow on 10 February 1940 for escort duties . While escorting Convoy HN12 from Norway , she was torpedoed on 18 February in position by U - 23 , under the command of Otto Kretschmer . " Daring " capsized and sank very quickly after having her stern blown off , and 157 of the ship ' s company were lost . The five survivors were rescued by the submarine , which had witnessed the attack .