On commissioning, when the ship was assigned the pennant number R87, Whirlwind was allocated to serve with the Eastern Fleet, and left Britain in October 1944. While on passage, she was briefly diverted to operations in the Mediterranean, escorting the battleship  during a bombardment of the island of Milos in the Aegean on 13 November 1944, before continuing to the Eastern Fleet's base at Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
Upon commission, when the ship was given the pennant number R87, Whirlwind was assigned to serve with the Eastern Fleet and departed Britain in October 1944. During transit, it briefly diverted to operations in the Mediterranean, providing escort services for the battleship during a bombardment of Milos Island in the Aegean on November 13, 1944, before continuing to the Eastern Fleet's base at Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).