The Beagles were coal-fuelled ships, designed for a speed of 27 kn (31 mph; 50 km/h), armed with a 4-inch (102 mm gun and two torpedo tubes.

[1] The Beagles were intended as a smaller and slower follow on to the previous Tribal class, which would be affordable enough to be built in large numbers.

[7][5] Foxhound was laid down on 1 April 1909 at John Brown's Clydebank shipyard[11] as Yard number 389,[12] was launched on 11 December 1909 and commissioned in September 1910.

[14] In October 1913, the Beagles, including Foxhound, were moved to the Mediterranean as the newly formed 5th Destroyer Flotilla along with the depot ship Blenheim.

[13][15][16] Foxhound, part of the 2nd Division of the 5th Flotilla,[17][18] was docked at Malta on 27 July 1914,[19] On 2 August, with war looming, the 1st and 2nd Divisions were deployed by Rear Admiral Ernest Troubridge to the entrance to the Adriatic to assist his squadron of Armoured cruisers to prevent the German battlecruiser Goeben and cruiser Breslau from escaping to Austrian waters.

[28][29] The British made another attempt to break the stalemate at Gallipoli on 6–7 August 1915, with the Landing at Suvla Bay, to the north of Anzac Cove.

This time, instead of row-boats, armoured shallow-draught self-propelled landing craft known as "Beetles" were used, which were towed close to shore by destroyers.

[36] In July 1918, Foxhound took part in an operation to intercept a German cruiser submarine reported by intelligence to be returning to Germany.