She remained with the Grand Fleet until refitted in late 1915, when she was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station for convoy escort duties.

In late 1917 Drake was torpedoed by a German submarine off Northern Ireland and sank in shallow water with the loss of eighteen lives near Rathlin Island.

The Drake-class ships were designed as faster and larger versions of the preceding Cressy class with a slightly more powerful armament.

[3] The main armament of the Drake class consisted of two breech-loading (BL) 9.2-inch (234 mm) Mk X guns in single turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure.

[3] Her secondary armament of sixteen BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk VII guns was arranged in casemates amidships.

During Battenberg's tenure the squadron visited Greece, Portugal, Canada, and the United States, where the American press commented favourably on Prince Louis's courtesy, unassuming manner and democratic nature.

[21] In October 1914, under the command of Aubrey Smith, the ship was used to carry Russian bullion worth eight million pounds to Britain; on arrival, Drake lay thirty miles off Archangel, and the gold was brought to her at night.

[22] The ship was refitted in October 1915[23] and then transferred to the North America and West Indies Station for convoy escort duties.

[24] Drake was torpedoed by the German submarine U-79, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Rohrbeck,[25] on 2 October 1917 after her Convoy HH24 had dispersed for its several destinations.

Her captain decided to steam for Church Bay on Rathlin Island and accidentally collided with the merchant ship SS Mendip Range before she dropped anchor.

On the night of 3 November 1962, the steam trawler Ella Hewett struck the wreck and subsequently sank almost atop Drake.