The Beagles were coal-fuelled ships, designed for a speed of 27 kn (31 mph; 50 km/h) and armed with a 4 in (102 mm) gun and two torpedo tubes.

As the First World War approached, the destroyer was based in Alexandria, Egypt, but was swiftly redeployed to Malta, and was involved in the unsuccessful search for the German warships Goeben and Breslau.

The destroyer subsequently returned to the North Sea and was involved in recovering the bodies of the crew from the pre-dreadnought battleship Formidable.

[1][2] The bridge was larger and higher than previous designs and the vessels were coal-burning after concerns had been raised about the availability of fuel oil in time of war.

Up to 226 long tons (230 t) of coal was carried, giving a design range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[21] Along with the rest of the class,Savage was transferred to the newly-formed Fifth Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean Fleet in November.

[27] On 5 August, the vessel accompanied Inflexible's sister ship Indomitable and Rattlesnake on a sortie to Bizerta to coal, rejoining the fleet the following day.

[28] Savage and Rattlesnake were back the following day for more coal, but nonetheless the fuel shortage continued to curtail action by the whole flotilla.

[30] On 29 October, alongside sister ship Scourge, Savage was dispatched by Vice-Admiral Sackville Carden to join the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron at Port Said to provide convoy protection in the Gulf of Aqaba.

[35] By 26 November, the destroyers of the Beagle class had been withdrawn from the Mediterranean to create a flotilla that would operate as escorts in the North Sea.

[41] The need for destroyer escorts was increasing dramatically as the German navy introduced unrestricted submarine warfare.

[45] After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy quickly withdrew all pre-war destroyers from active service.

As the force returned to a peacetime level of strength, both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money.