Her coal-fired boilers were converted into oil-fired ones, and her original two short, squat funnels were replaced with three smaller, more streamlined ones, profoundly altering her appearance.

At the time, Aquilone, under the command of Capitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Pontremoli, as well as Borea, Nembo, Turbine, and their sister ship Espero made up the 5th Destroyer Squadron, based at Taranto.

[7] On the afternoon of 23 May 1915, the day Italy declared war, Aquilone and Turbine got underway to patrol in the Adriatic Sea along the Italian coast as far north as Manfredonia.

Aquilone, Centauro, the auxiliary cruiser Città di Siracusa, and the destroyer Ardito forced Balaton and Orjen to withdraw.

The occupation went smoothly: Francesco Ferruccio landed a platoon of sailors, and the small garrison of Greek gendarmes retreated without offering any resistance.

After World War I ended, Aquilone underwent modifications to her superstructure which involved removing of one of her three funnels and moving her bridge aft.