[4] Three sets of Brown-Curtis steam turbines were fed by four Yarrow three-drum boilers, rated at 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW), which gave a speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).

[6][3] Up to 515 tons of oil fuel could be carried, giving a range of 4,290 nautical miles (7,950 km; 4,940 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[11][12] On the night of 10/11 September 1915, the Harwich Force sailed in support of a major minelaying operation near the Amrum Bank in the North Sea.

The operation was a success, with 1450 mines being laid and the cruiser force encountering and sinking a German trawler on the outward journey.

[15] In December 1915 Nimrod led eight destroyers that were temporarily detached from the Harwich Force for operations in the English Channel and Western Approaches as a response to attacks on shipping by the German submarine U-24.

Vindex launched five seaplanes on the morning of 25 March, but only two returned at the appointed time, reporting that the Zeppelin base was at Tondern rather than Hoyer, and that they had been unable to attack it.

[19][20][21] On 24 April 1916, a force of German battlecruisers and cruiser set out from Kiel to bombard the coastal towns of Lowestoft and Yarmouth.

[27] On 7 September 1916, Nimrod was leading the escort of a convoy back to England when a German submarine attempted to torpedo the destroyer Lance, which retaliated with depth charges.

On 9 September, when escorting another convoy, Nimrod spotted a German submarine off the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) estuary and attempted to ram, following this up with two depth charges.

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.

[32][33][34] On 12 March 1917 the destroyer Skate was torpedoed by the German submarine UC-69 near the Maas light vessel while escorting an east-bound convoy to the Netherlands.

[36] On 25 July 1917 the Dover Patrol laid a mine-net barrage off the Belgian coast between Nieuport and Zeebrugge, with Nimrod and eight destroyers detached from the Harwich Force to support the operation.

[37] In October 1917, Nimrod formed part of a large-scale operation, involving 30 cruisers and 54 destroyers deployed in eight groups across the North Sea in an attempt to stop a suspected sortie by German naval forces.

Despite these countermeasures, the two German light cruisers Bremse and Brummer, managed to evade the patrols and attacked the regular convoy between Norway and Britain, sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers, Mary Rose and Strongbow before returning safely to Germany.