In 1916, while escorting the ocean liner Calgarian, the destroyer was again damaged attacking what was thought to be a German submarine but transpired to be wreckage from a merchant ship sunk by U-49.

Pioneered by the Tribal class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907, using oil enabled a more efficient design, leading to a smaller vessel which also had increased deck space available for weaponry.

[4] The vessel carried 170 long tons (170 t) of fuel oil which gave a range of 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[9] The destroyer was later modified to carry a single Vickers QF 3-pounder 2 in (47 mm) anti-aircraft gun, and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare.

One of three in the class sourced from J. Samuel White, Ruby was laid down at the company's East Cowes shipyard on 15 February 1910 with yard number 1317 and launched on 4 November.

[21] Soon afterwards, the destroyers were deployed to Devonport to undertake escort and patrol duties, protecting merchant ships against German submarines.

The operation was arduous and led to the ship's hull leaking and having to dock on 14 February, eventually returning to Scapa Flow four days later.

[27] The Devonport-based destroyers were responsible for escorting merchant ships travelling from North and South America, Gibraltar, Dakar and the Cape.

For example, on 31 January 1917 the destroyer formed part of the escort for the ocean liner Calgarian that was carrying gold to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

[28] While escorting the vessel again a month later, Ruby rammed debris of a ship sunk by U-49, thinking it was a submarine, being severely damaged in the process.

[38][39] Although the Armistice of 11 November ended fighting on the Western Front, in the Black Sea, the Russian Revolution meant that the warship was still required to serve.

[42] In the meantime, the Armistice meant that the Royal Navy needed to return to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of staff reduced to save money.

The harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and poor weather, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the destroyer was worn out.