In the early part of their war service, Bathursts were involved in the evacuation of several locations which fell to the initial Japanese advance, and in the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to Australian and Dutch guerrilla operations in Timor.
HMAS Armidale was the only ship of the class destroyed by enemy action; she was sunk by torpedoes from Japanese aircraft on the afternoon of 1 December 1942 while transporting personnel of the Netherlands East Indies Army to Betano, Timor.

The Bathursts were involved in several attacks on submarines during the war.
On 20 January 1942, Japanese submarine I-124 was sunk outside Darwin.
This, the first RAN kill of a full-size submarine, was credited to HMAS Deloraine, with sister ships Katoomba and Lithgow assisting.
On 11 September 1943, HMAS Wollongong assisted in the destruction of German submarine U-617.
On 11 February 1944, the corvettes Ipswich and Launceston, along with the Indian sloop HMIS Jumna, were responsible for the sinking of Japanese submarine RO-110 in the Bay of Bengal.

In November 1942, an Indian Bathurst, HMIS Bengal, along with the Dutch tanker Ondina she was escorting, engaged and sank the Japanese commerce raider Hōkoku-Maru, and drove off her sister ship Aikoku Maru.

In early 1943, HMA Ships Benalla and Shepparton were modified to serve as hydrographic survey ships.
The corvettes were assigned to Task Group 70.5 of the United States Seventh Fleet, and were used to survey waters prior to several amphibious landings during the war.

Eight corvettes were deployed to the Mediterranean in May 1943.
Their anti-aircraft armament made them appropriate for escort duties during the Allied invasion of Sicily.
A month later, four Bathursts were part of an eight-ship escort for a 40-strong convoy to Gibraltar when it was attacked by 50 German torpedo bombers; the corvettes' air defence destroyed nine aircraft, and only two merchant ships received damage.
During their time in the Mediterranean, several corvettes reached the Atlantic Ocean.

In early 1945, eighteen Bathurst-class corvettes were assigned to the British Pacific Fleet.
Eight of these ships cleared Victoria Harbour before the BPF arrived in Hong Kong at the end of the Japanese occupation, while three-Ballarat, Cessnock, and Ipswich-were present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed.

The poor working and living conditions aboard the ships, combined with the heavy and often difficult workloads, led to mutinous acts aboard four ships during the war: Toowoomba, Lithgow, Geraldton, and Pirie.
The incidents in Geraldton and Lithgow were minor and resolved without disciplinary charges, while the 'mutiny' aboard Toowoomba was caused by a lack of communication: after a hard day loading supplies, the sailors did not respond to an order to assemble on the quarterdeck as they felt they had laboured enough that day, but changed their mind when informed that the order to assemble was so the captain could thank them for their efforts, and reward them with drinks.
However, the Pirie mutiny was far more serious: the ship's company were unable to respect their commanding officer, who was an ineffective leader but an overly strict disciplinarian with a superiority complex.
This lack of respect was compounded while repairs were made to the corvette following an air attack off Oro Bay in April 1943, when the captain forced the rest of the company to live aboard, while he took residence at a hotel.
A lack of pay, mail, and shore leave contributed to the sailors' frustration, and in response, 45 junior sailors refused to report for duties on 9 May until they could present their grievances to the commander.
In response, he had the ship surrounded by armed guards and disabled the main gun.
A Board of Inquiry failed to identify any ringleaders, and the problem was handed back to Pirie's commander to solve as he saw fit: fourteen men were charged with mutiny, with ten sent to prison.
Relationships between commander and company did not improve until he was replaced at the end of 1943 for his botched
In the early part of their war service, Bathursts were involved in the evacuation of several locations which fell to the initial Japanese advance, and in the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to Australian and Dutch guerrilla operations in Timor. HMAS Armidale was the only ship of the class destroyed by enemy action; she was sunk by torpedoes from Japanese aircraft on the afternoon of 1 December 1942 while transporting personnel of the Netherlands East Indies Army to Betano, Timor.
The Bathursts were involved in several attacks on submarines during the war. On 20 January 1942, Japanese submarine I-124 was sunk outside Darwin. This, the first RAN kill of a full-size submarine, was credited to HMAS Deloraine, with sister ships Katoomba and Lithgow assisting. On 11 September 1943, HMAS Wollongong assisted in the destruction of German submarine U-617. On 11 February 1944, the corvettes Ipswich and Launceston, along with the Indian sloop HMIS Jumna, were responsible for the sinking of Japanese submarine RO-110 in the Bay of Bengal.
In November 1942, an Indian Bathurst, HMIS Bengal, along with the Dutch tanker Ondina she was escorting, engaged and sank the Japanese commerce raider Hōkoku-Maru, and drove off her sister ship Aikoku Maru.
In early 1943, HMA Ships Benalla and Shepparton were modified to serve as hydrographic survey ships. The corvettes were assigned to Task Group 70.5 of the United States Seventh Fleet, and were used to survey waters prior to several amphibious landings during the war.
Eight corvettes were deployed to the Mediterranean in May 1943. Their anti-aircraft armament made them appropriate for escort duties during the Allied invasion of Sicily. A month later, four Bathursts were part of an eight-ship escort for a 40-strong convoy to Gibraltar when it was attacked by 50 German torpedo bombers; the corvettes' air defence destroyed nine aircraft, and only two merchant ships received damage. During their time in the Mediterranean, several corvettes reached the Atlantic Ocean.
In early 1945, eighteen Bathurst-class corvettes were assigned to the British Pacific Fleet. Eight of these ships cleared Victoria Harbour before the BPF arrived in Hong Kong at the end of the Japanese occupation, while three-Ballarat, Cessnock, and Ipswich-were present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed.
The poor working and living conditions aboard the ships, combined with the heavy and often difficult workloads, led to mutinous acts aboard four ships during the war: Toowoomba, Lithgow, Geraldton, and Pirie. The incidents in Geraldton and Lithgow were minor and resolved without disciplinary charges, while the 'mutiny' aboard Toowoomba was caused by a lack of communication: after a hard day loading supplies, the sailors did not respond to an order to assemble on the quarterdeck as they felt they had laboured enough that day, but changed their mind when informed that the order to assemble was so the captain could thank them for their efforts, and reward them with drinks. However, the Pirie mutiny was far more serious: the ship's company were unable to respect their commanding officer, who was an ineffective leader but an overly strict disciplinarian with a superiority complex. This lack of respect was compounded while repairs were made to the corvette following an air attack off Oro Bay in April 1943, when the captain forced the rest of the company to live aboard, while he took residence at a hotel. A lack of pay, mail, and shore leave contributed to the sailors' frustration, and in response, 45 junior sailors refused to report for duties on 9 May until they could present their grievances to the commander. In response, he had the ship surrounded by armed guards and disabled the main gun. A Board of Inquiry failed to identify any ringleaders, and the problem was handed back to Pirie's commander to solve as he saw fit: fourteen men were charged with mutiny, with ten sent to prison. Relationships between commander and company did not improve until he was replaced at the end of 1943 for his botched 
Bathurst-class corvette