On commissioning Ulysses was allocated to the 25th Destroyer Flotilla and worked as part of the Home Fleet; this included work on the Arctic convoys. In June 1944 she assisted with the invasion of Normandy, providing Naval gunfire support. In late 1944 and early 1945 she was refitted for service in the Far East and in March 1945 left the UK to join the British Pacific Fleet. She returned to the UK in 1946 and was soon placed in reserve.