Despite being badly damaged by a German mine in 1915 and being involved in several collisions, she survived the war, and was sold for scrap in 1921.

[3][4] Matchless was laid down at Swan Hunter's Wallsend, Tyneside shipyard on 8 November 1913, launched on 5 October 1914 and completed in December 1914,[5] at a price of £118,581.

[7] Four Yarrow three-drum boilers fed two sets of Parsons steam turbines rated at 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW),[7] giving a normal maximum speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).

[8] Up to 228 tons of oil could be carried, giving an endurance of 2,100 nautical miles (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[13][14] On 31 January 1915, Matchless was one of seven destroyers[b] of the Harwich Force dispatched to Sheerness to make part in minelaying operations east of the Straits of Dover to restrict the movements of German U-Boats.

[19] On 16 August 1915, 8 destroyers of the 10th Flotilla, including Matchless, escorted the minelayer Princess Margaret which was tasked with laying a minefield on the Arum Bank.

[20][21] On 30 October Matchless took part in a sweep by the Harwich Force of the German Bight during which the Swedish steamer Osterland was stopped and sent to the Humber for investigation of a suspicious cargo of iron ore.[22] On the night of 8/9 November 1915, Matchless set out with the Harwich Force to cover the minelayers Princess Margaret and Angora as they laid a minefield off the Amrum Bank.

Severe weather caused Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt, commander of the Harwich Force, to order his destroyers back to base.

[25] On 24 April 1916, a force of German battlecruisers and cruiser set out from Kiel to bombard the coastal towns of Lowestoft and Yarmouth.

[26][27] The light cruisers and five destroyers of the Harwich Force left port at midnight on the night of 24/25 April, with Matchless leaving Harwich just after 01:00hr[28] Heavily outnumbered, Tyrwhitt turned away in an attempt to lure the German forces away from Lowestoft, but the Germans ignored this move and shelled Lowestoft before moving North towards their next target, Yarmouth.

[29][30] On the night of 22 July 1916, two light cruisers and eight destroyers of the Harwich Force set out on a patrol to prevent German torpedo boats based in Flanders from interfering with shipping traffic between Britain and the Netherlands.

The German destroyers managed to reach the safety of minefields and coastal defences near Zeebrugge, and the British broke off the chase.

Six destroyers, including Matchless, were released with Nimrod back to the Harwich Force in order to take part in operations to stop the transfer of torpedo boats.

[39][40] The British set six light cruisers, two flotilla leaders and sixteen destroyers to intercept the eleven German ships, deploying them in several groups to make sure that all possible routes were covered.

Nimrod's group of destroyers headed north-east to cut-off the return route to the German Bight, but were ordered back to their station.

[55][56] On the night of 28/29 September 1918, Matchless took part in a bombardment of German positions on the Belgian coast in support of the advance of Allied ground forces.