HMS Broke (D83) was the second of four ships to be ordered from Messers Thornycroft forming part of the Shakespeare Class. She was laid down at Thornycoft's yard in Woolston, Southampton in 1918. Launched in 1920, she was towed to the Royal Dockyard in Pembroke to be completed. Originally, the Broke was scheduled to be named after Rear Admiral Sir George Rooke (1650-1709), who had found fame during the Third Dutch Wars (1672-1674) and at the Battle of Vigo Bay (1709). However in 1921, following her launch , her name was changed to Broke, after Rear-Admiral Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke (1776-1841).

The Shakespeare Class ships were all named after historical naval leaders. Of the six vessels planned, only Shakespeare and Spenser were completed in time to take part in the Great War, with Broke and Keppel being completed too late for the conflict; a further two ships, Saunders and Spragge, were cancelled following the end of hostilities. The class was designed to be leader vessels, carrying the flag officer of a flotilla of destroyers, along with an enlarged capacity for crew, stores and armaments. Broke was commissioned into the Royal Navy in April, 1925.

Until the outbreak of World War Two, HMS Broke led a fairly unremarkable career, other than being called upon to attend a possible mutiny in 1937 aboard the South African steamer Sherard Osborn. Like most of the navy's destroyers, her early service in World War Two involved escort duties. Broke was not present at Dunkirk, however she was involved in Cycle, as well as assisting with the demolition of the French port of St Nazaire.

HMS Broke sunk on 10th November 1942, following her mission, along with HMS Malcolm, to capture the port facilities of Algiers. This was to prevent their destruction by the French Vichy forces in advance of the Allies' Operation Torch.