HMS Faulknor ( H62 ) was an F class destroyer flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy in commission from 1934 . The ship had a particularly active operational role during World War II, being awarded 11 battle honours, and was known as " The hardest worked destroyer in the Fleet ". She was the first ship to sink a German U - boat, took part in the Norwegian Campaign , served in the Mediterranean on the Malta Convoys , escorted convoys to Russia and across the Atlantic , saw action during the invasions of Sicily, Italy and Normandy , and was at the liberation of the Channel Islands. She was decommissioned and sold for scrap in late 1945