HMS Hesperus was an H-class destroyer that had originally been ordered by the Brazilian Navy with the name Juruena in the late 1930s, but was bought by the Royal Navy after the beginning of World War II in September 1939 and later renamed. She was damaged by German aircraft during the Norwegian Campaign in May 1940 and was assigned to convoy escort and anti-submarine patrols after her repairs were completed. The ship was assigned to the Western Approaches Command for convoy escort duties in late 1940. She was briefly assigned to Force H in 1941, but her anti-aircraft armament was deemed too weak and she was transferred to the Newfoundland Escort Force the next month for escort duties in the North Atlantic. Hesperus was transferred to the Mid-Ocean Escort Force in late 1941 and continued to