 HMS Duncan was a D @-@ class destroyer leader built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s . The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935 where she remained until mid @-@ 1939 . Duncan returned to the Mediterranean Fleet just after World War II began in September 1939 . She was transferred to the Home Fleet in December 1939 , although she was badly damaged in a collision the following month , and required repairs that lasted until July 1940 . The ship joined Force H at Gibraltar in October , escorting the larger ships and various convoys until March 1941 when she was transferred to West Africa for convoy escort duties for a few months . Duncan rejoined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla at Gibraltar in July and escorted several convoys to Malta during the rest of the year . After a refit , she briefly returned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla before joining the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean to participate in Operation Ironclad in May 1942 . The ship was recalled home to be converted into an escort destroyer in late 1942 . 
