The ship spent the first months of the Second World War hunting for German raiders and blockade runners. She participated in the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940 and searched for the in 1941. "Repulse" escorted a troop convoy around the Cape of Good Hope from August to October 1941 and was transferred to East Indies Command. She was assigned in November to Force Z which was supposed to deter Japanese aggression against British possessions in the Far East. "Repulse" and her consort were sunk by Japanese aircraft on 10 December 1941 when they attempted to intercept landings in British Malaya.