HMS Atherstone was a of the Royal Navy. She was launched in late 1939 as the first of her class but was found to be unstable, and had to undergo significant modifications before entering service in March 1940. Construction and design Atherstone was ordered from Cammell Laird of Birkenhead on 21 March 1939, as one of the first batch of ten Hunt-class destroyers. The Hunts were intended to make up for a shortage in destroyer-type vessels, particularly for escort duties. They were to combine the heavy anti-aircraft armament of the s (i.e. six 4 inch (102 mm) QF Mk XVI dual purpose (anti-ship and anti-aircraft) guns in three twin mounts) with a speed of (compared with for the Bitterns) to allow them to work with the fleet when necessary. This was supplemented by a close-in anti-aircraft armament of a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom", and an anti-submarine armament of 30 depth charges. No torpedo-tubes were to be carried. Atherstone was laid down on 8 June 1939 and launched on 12 December 1939. An inclining test when the ship was fitting out showed that she, and by extension all the Hunts, was dangerously unstable owing to a design error. To restore stability to acceptable levels, one twin 4 inch mount was removed, the ship's superstructure and funnel was cut down and additional ballast was fitted. Thus modified, Atherstone was completed and commissioned (with the pennant number L05) on 23 March 1940. Atherstone was long between perpendiculars and overall. The ship's beam was and draught . As modified, displacement was standard and under full load. Two Admiralty boilers raising steam at and fed Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines that drove two propeller shafts, generating at 380 rpm. This gave a speed of . The ship's main gun armament was four 4 inch (102 mm) QF Mk XVI dual purpose (anti-ship and anti-aircraft) guns in two twin mounts, with one mount forward and one aft. Additional close-in anti-aircraft armament was provided by a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" mount. The ship was later modified by adding two single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon on the bridge wings, while a single "pom-pom" was mounted in the ship's bow. Up to 40 depth charges could be carried. The ship had a complement of 146 officers and men. Service Following commissioning and initial trials, Atherstone joined the First Destroyer Flotilla based at Portsmouth employed on convoy escort duties in the English