After completion in September 1940, the HMS Phoebe (43) was assigned the 15th Cruiser squadron as part of the Home Fleet and used in the North Atlantic on trade protection duties. In April 1941, she joined the Mediterranean fleet at Alexandria from where she took part in the evacuation of Greece and Crete and some Malta convoys. She returned to Alexandria on 29 May with New Zealand troops evacuated from Crete, but was sent back to Crete accompanied by the destroyers HMAS Napier (G 97), HMAS Nizam (G 38), HMS Kelvin (F 37) and HMS Kandahar (F 28) to evacuate as many as possible of the remaining New Zealand and Australian soldiers before Crete capitulated. The cruiser served then as flagship in the operations against the Vichy-French Syria in June.
At 20.05 hours on 3 Jul, 1941, the Italian submarine Malachite (Zanni) fired torpedoes at the HMS Phoebe (43) in 32°25N/24°40E and heard a detonation after two minutes and claimed the sinking of the cruiser, which was in fact missed.
On 27 Aug, 1941, the HMS Phoebe (43) was hit by a torpedo from an Italian aircraft, while covering troop transports to the besieged Tobruk. Temporary repairs were made at Alexandria and the cruiser then left to New York for permanent repairs, which were made between 21 Nov November and 21 Apr, 1942 and she returned to service in May 1942. After the transfer to the Mediterranean, the cruiser took part in the Operation Pedestal in August 1942 as escort for the aircraft carriers that brought Spitfires to Malta. The following month, she and HMS Sirius (82) were stationed in Capetown to patrol against Axis blockade runners, but had no success.

After returning to service in July 1943, HMS Phoebe (43) returned to the Mediterranean again and operated first in the Aegean and then took part in the Operation Shingle, the landings at Anzio in January 1944. Later that year she joined the 5th Cruiser Squadron as part of the Eastern Fleet and operated in the Indian Ocean until war´s end. The cruiser covered the carrier raids on the Nicobars and Sabang as a fighter direction ship and the assault landings on the coast of Burma and the Rangoon landings in April/May 1945. During this time she was flagship of the 21st Escort Carrier Squadron, until relieved by HMS Royalist (89).
On 29 Oct, 1945, the cruiser arrived at Sheerness to refit and in 1946 joined the Mediterranean Fleet as flagship for the Destroyer Flotillas until November 1947, when she was assigned to the the 1st Cruiser Squadron. On 14 Mar, 1951, the ship arrived at Chatham to be paid off, then acted as senior officer´s ship in the Harwich reserve until 1955, followed by a year with the Portsmouth reserve. On 1 Aug, 1956, the ship arrived at Hughes Bolkow, Blyth to be broken up.