Channel. In June and July, she was detached to the Home Fleet, returning to Portsmouth in August. On 11 September 1940, while escorting Convoy CW11 in the Channel, Atherstone was hit by two bombs and near missed by a third, sustaining serious damage and killing 5 men. After repair at Chatham Dockyard, the ship rejoined the First Destroyer Flotilla in January 1941, resuming convoy escort duty in the Channel. In December 1941, after a refit at Southampton, Atherstone transferred to the 15th Destroyer Flotilla based at Devonport. On 26 March 1942 Atherstone sailed from Falmouth as part of Operation Chariot, the St Nazaire Raid. This was an amphibious assault on the port of St Nazaire in France with the objective of destroying the gates of the Normandie dock by ramming them with an explosive-packed destroyer, , and so prevent the dock's use by the . Atherstone and her sister ship escorted Campbeltown and the remainder of the strike force, towing the Motor Gun Boat MGB 314 on the passage to St Nazaire. Early on 27 March, Tynedale sighted the , and the two escort destroyers attacked the U-boat. Although U-593 survived the attack, the destroyers forced the U-Boat to stay submerged for several hours, preventing it from interfering with the operation. In May 1942 Atherstone transferred to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla, escorting convoys off the East coast of Britain. In March 1943 the ship transferred to the Mediterranean, joining the 18th Destroyer Flotilla. In July 1943, Atherstone took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, forming part of the naval force supporting the landing of the British XXX Corps south-west of Syracuse. In September 1943, Atherstone took part in Operation Avalanche, the Anglo-American landings at Salerno in Italy, forming part of the escort for the force of aircraft carriers providing air cover for the landings. On 26 November 1943 she rescued about 70 survivors from the troopship , which had been sunk by a Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb off the coast of French Algeria. In August 1944, the Allies invaded the South of France, with Atherstone escorting convoys to the beaches. In November 1944, Atherstone joined the 5th Destroyer Flotilla based at Alexandria, which was deployed in the Adriatic Sea. On 9 December Atherstone and the destroyer shelled German troops on the island of Rab. On 14 December 1944, the two destroyers carried out another bombardment operation against targets