[Note 1][4] The class saw extensive wartime service and seven were lost, including four at the Battle of Jutland.

The 4-in guns were shipped one on the forecastle and one at the stern, as in the Acheron class, while the third was variously sited on the centreline between the two torpedo tubes or abaft both.

The foremost torpedo tube was sited between the second and third funnels, a distinctive feature of this class.

[6] One by Parsons (Garland) had semi-geared turbines[7] giving a speed of 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) on trials, with a seventh from Fairfields had a clipper bow.

[7][8] At the outbreak of World War I until mid-1916, the Acastas were serving in the Grand Fleet as the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, with Swift as leader.