Launched in 1912, she saw extensive service during World War I as a tender to the flagship of the Grand Fleet, and for this purpose she was painted white, instead of the usual warship grey.

Firedrake, Lurcher and Oak were, however, distinctive in appearance and at least 4 knots faster than the rest of their class.

Of note, King George V travelled to Scapa Flow in 1915 for a two-day review of the Grand Fleet, crossing from Thurso.

Distinctive in her white paint, Oak carried the German Rear-Admiral Hugo Meurer from the cruiser Königsberg to surrender on 15 November 1918, to Admiral Sir David Beatty on board his flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, in the Firth of Forth.

Under the terms of the Armistice, the German High Seas Fleet went into internment at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow - in Operation ZZ, 60 Allied battleships escorted 11 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 8 cruisers and 48 destroyers of the High Seas Fleet into captivity.