In the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II, Starling was the flagship of Captain Frederic John Walker's 2nd Support Group, a flotilla of six sloops not tied down to convoy protection, but free to hunt down U-boats wherever found. The other ships of the group were HMS Cygnet, HMS Kite, HMS Wild Goose, HMS Woodpecker, and HMS Wren. Starling was scrapped in 1965.