The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) and, although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service, the extra performance that was achieved was valued by the navy.

[2] The Repeat M class differed from the prewar vessels in having a raked stem and minor design improvements based on wartime experience.

Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtiss steam turbines rated at 27,800 shaft horsepower (20,700 kW).

[3][1] A total of 228 long tons (232 t) of oil was carried to give a design range of 2,530 nautical miles (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[9] Orcadia was laid down by Fairfield at their shipyard in Govan on 24 June 1915 with yard number 518 at a cost of £146,528 to build, launched on 26 July 1916 and completed on 29 September the same year, the first of the name in service with the Royal Navy.

[12] On 22 November, the flotilla took part in exercises north of the Shetland Islands under the dreadnought Iron Duke that also involved the majority of the First and Third Battle Squadrons.

[19] After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel in service needed to be reduced to save money.