H.M.S. Jupiter was one of the eight 'Javelin' or 'J' class destroyers ordered in 1936, laid down in 1937 and completed during 1939. Built by Yarrows, at Scotstoun, on the Clyde, Jupiter was launched on 27th October 1938 and, like her sisters, displaced 1,760 tons and measured 357 feet in length with a 36 foot beam. Powered by Parsons' single-reduction turbines, she had a design speed of 32 knots (deep-loaded) and mounted 6-4.7in. guns as her principal armament. Although she achieved a higher speed on her trials in March 1939, she also produced huge clouds of dense black smoke due to the high burning temperature of her oil and this was amongst a number of teething problems which needed to be addressed before she was ready for sea.

Commissioned with a pre-war complement of 208 officers and men, she began her wartime career in the Humber along with the rest of the "J's", but once the so-called "phoney war" ended, she found herself in much greater demand. On 7th April 1940, she was amongst the initial task-force sent north to try and halt the German invasion of Norway and was constantly in action during the disastrous campaign which followed. Laid up for repairs at the end of May, when these were completed she was transferred to the Mediterranean where, in February 1941, she took part in the attack on Genoa by Force 'H' under Admiral Somerville. In October, she [and H.M.S. Encounter] were sent east to join Admiral Phillips' Force 'G' and they rendezvoused with him at Colombo on 28th November in company with the battlecruiser Repulse just in from the Atlantic. After reaching Singapore on 2nd December, Jupiter was sent on a brief foray with Force 'Z' from which she returned for employment on escort duties. On one such operation, she attacked and sank the Japanese submarine I-60 in the Sunda Strait, 25 miles off Krakatoa, on 17th January 1942, but was then herself sunk six weeks later during the Battle of the Java Sea. By then part of the so-called 'China Force' under Commodore Collins, she had already evacuated refugees from Singapore when she went into action during the prolonged battle to save Java from invasion by the Japanese. It became a desperate fight lasting many days but on 27th February, two days after the start, Jupiter strayed into an unmarked Dutch minefield and, after hitting a mine at 9.30pm., sank four hours later with the loss of 95 men.