The early part of Tiger's first commission was spent, under Captain R. E. Washbourn, on trials of her new armament.
After workup, now under Captain R. Hutchins, Tiger went on a round of autumn flag-showing visits to Gdynia, Stockholm, Kiel and Antwerp.
At the end of 1959 she deployed to the Mediterranean for a year as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet.
By late 1960, they had "overcome the teething troubles with the 3" armament", but the ship had "difficulty in achieving sustained bursts of fire with her 6" guns", and it was planned to resolve this at her first refit at the end of 1960.
During a visit by the First Lord of the Admiralty (Lord Carrington), the Naval Secretary Rear-Admiral Frank Twiss "made the unpardonable error of shooting down a very expensive target aircraft, to the cheers of the ship's company but to a stinging rebuke from their Lordships of the Admiralty."
 The ship took part in operations in the Far East during the Indonesian Confrontation in the early 1960s.
 The Navy in the early 1960s suffered manpower shortages, which resulted in a "shortfall in technical personnel" in the Tiger, as a consequence some "items of its equipment could not be operated", and "some of its equipment was not operational".
 In September 1963, the Glasgow Herald said that the "Tiger already has a much-reduced crew and is virtually a floating office."
During the 1964 general election campaign, the leader of the opposition, Harold Wilson, criticised the government for this during a speech at Plymouth.

Rear-Admiral Michael Pollock flew his flag in her as Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Home Fleet, from 1965 – 1966.
 On 10 August 1966 one of the guns accidentally fired a practice shell into Devonport Dockyard during material tests of the equipment. "
One member of the ship's company was slightly grazed, but there were no other casualties."
In October 1966, the ship was visiting Cardiff at the time of the Aberfan disaster.
The crew assisted with the rescue and recovery operation.

From 2 to 4 December 1966, she hosted talks between Prime Ministers Harold Wilson (UK) and Ian Smith of Rhodesia.
The latter had unilaterally declared independence from Britain due to Britain's insistence on the removal of white minority rule.
Twenty officers (including all twelve midshipmen) were put ashore at Gibraltar before the talks to "make room for the three delegations of the Prime Minister, the Governor of Rhodesia and Mr. Smith."
When the Rhodesian delegation arrived, the Tiger was a few miles off shore, and the delegation was ferried out in a small craft.
 The Tiger then moved out to sea, but moved close to harbour when the Rhodesian delegation disembarked.
On Wilson's orders, the British and Rhodesian delegations were "separated in all activities outside the conference room".
The early part of Tiger's first commission was spent, under Captain R. E. Washbourn, on trials of her new armament. After workup, now under Captain R. Hutchins, Tiger went on a round of autumn flag-showing visits to Gdynia, Stockholm, Kiel and Antwerp. At the end of 1959 she deployed to the Mediterranean for a year as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. By late 1960, they had "overcome the teething troubles with the 3" armament", but the ship had "difficulty in achieving sustained bursts of fire with her 6" guns", and it was planned to resolve this at her first refit at the end of 1960. During a visit by the First Lord of the Admiralty (Lord Carrington), the Naval Secretary Rear-Admiral Frank Twiss "made the unpardonable error of shooting down a very expensive target aircraft, to the cheers of the ship's company but to a stinging rebuke from their Lordships of the Admiralty."  The ship took part in operations in the Far East during the Indonesian Confrontation in the early 1960s.  The Navy in the early 1960s suffered manpower shortages, which resulted in a "shortfall in technical personnel" in the Tiger, as a consequence some "items of its equipment could not be operated", and "some of its equipment was not operational".  In September 1963, the Glasgow Herald said that the "Tiger already has a much-reduced crew and is virtually a floating office." During the 1964 general election campaign, the leader of the opposition, Harold Wilson, criticised the government for this during a speech at Plymouth.
Rear-Admiral Michael Pollock flew his flag in her as Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Home Fleet, from 1965 – 1966.  On 10 August 1966 one of the guns accidentally fired a practice shell into Devonport Dockyard during material tests of the equipment. "One member of the ship's company was slightly grazed, but there were no other casualties." In October 1966, the ship was visiting Cardiff at the time of the Aberfan disaster. The crew assisted with the rescue and recovery operation.
From 2 to 4 December 1966, she hosted talks between Prime Ministers Harold Wilson (UK) and Ian Smith of Rhodesia. The latter had unilaterally declared independence from Britain due to Britain's insistence on the removal of white minority rule. Twenty officers (including all twelve midshipmen) were put ashore at Gibraltar before the talks to "make room for the three delegations of the Prime Minister, the Governor of Rhodesia and Mr. Smith." When the Rhodesian delegation arrived, the Tiger was a few miles off shore, and the delegation was ferried out in a small craft.  The Tiger then moved out to sea, but moved close to harbour when the Rhodesian delegation disembarked. On Wilson's orders, the British and Rhodesian delegations were "separated in all activities outside the conference room".
HMS Tiger (C20)