In World War II, Intrepid attacked and sank the German submarine U-45 south-west of Ireland on 14 October 1939 in company with the destroyers HMS Ivanhoe and HMS Inglefield. She participated in the pursuit and destruction of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, and in Operation Pedestal, the escorting of a convoy to Malta in August 1942. Intrepid was adopted by the town of Uxbridge in 1942 to raise funds for the ship's costs.