Authorized as one of seven Tribal-class destroyers under the 1935 Naval Estimates,
Maori was the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was ordered on 10 March 1936 from
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and was
laid down on 6 July at the company's
Govan shipyard. She was
launched on 2 September 1937 by Mrs. W. J. Jordan, the wife of the
New Zealand High Commissioner Bill Jordan.
Maori was completed on 30 November 1938 and
commissioned on 5 December at a cost of
£340,622 which excluded weapons and communication equipment furnished by the
Admiralty.
Maori joined 's division in January 1939 and joined the
Mediterranean Fleet. She and the other Tribal-class destroyers did convoy escort duties, and
Maori then returned to Britain in October. Until April 1940 she patrolled the
North Sea and also took part in the
Norwegian Campaign. In June she sailed to
Iceland looking for German warships and also served briefly in the
Faroe Islands. In May 1941, she participated in the pursuit and destruction of the . While escorting Convoy WS-8B to the Middle East,
Maori, along with the destroyers
Cossack, and broke off on 26 May and headed towards the area where
Bismarck had been reported. They found her that evening and made several torpedo attacks in the evening and into the next morning. No hits were scored but they kept her gunners from getting any sleep, making it easier for the
battleships to attack her the next morning.
Maori then rescued some of the survivors from
Bismarck after the battleship sank. She served with the
14th Destroyer Flotilla during the
Battle of Cape Bon in December 1941.
Maori, commanded by Commander R. E. Courage, RN, was attacked by German aircraft and sunk at her moorings in the
Malta Grand Harbour on 12 February 1942, with the loss of one of her crew; she was raised and scuttled off
Fort Saint Elmo on 15 July 1945. ==Wreck==