Launched in June 1916, the vessel escorted convoys that sailed between Scotland and Scandinavia in the First World War.

Sarpedon was one of eighteen R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Sixth War Construction Programme.

A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[2] Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the second and third funnels.

[6] On 19 July 1917, Sarpedon and the destroyer Arab were escorting an east-bound convoy on the route from Lerwick to Norway when they came under attack by the German submarine U-67.