All six ships operated in the Atlantic or Caribbean until the U.S. entrance into World War I in April 1917, when all six were sent overseas to Queenstown, Ireland, for convoy escort duties.

Between 1924 and 1926, four of the five (all but Wadsworth) were commissioned into the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol".

[6] But the high cost of the design—$1,900,000 for hull and machinery vs. $790,000 for the O'Brien-class ships—and the lack of operating experience with the Cassin class[1]—the first of the "thousand tonners" (destroyers exceeding 1,000 long tons (1,020 t) displacement) which were just beginning to be launched—caused C&R to resist the much larger design.

[4] The Chief Constructor of the Navy, the head of C&R, pointed out that the British had not repeated the Swift design in the five years since her introduction, and noted that "a destroyer that gets too large loses many of the desirable features of the type".

[4] In November 1912, the General Board offered several alternatives to reduce the size of the destroyer, and was convinced by C&R that the most practical solution was a design that shared much with the O'Brien class: matching that class' main battery and torpedo load but with a design speed of 29.5 knots (54.6 km/h) and the desired 2,500-nautical-mile (4,600 km) steaming radius.

The General Board also specified that the ships be equipped with "two aeroplane guns, if they can be developed and installed", have provisions for laying thirty-six mines, and a strengthened bow for ramming.

[2] All six members of the class served in the Atlantic throughout their U.S. Navy careers, and all were sent overseas to Queenstown, Ireland, for convoy escort and anti-submarine duties after the United States entered World War I in April 1917.

[2] USS Tucker (DD-57), the lead ship of the class, was laid down by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, in November 1914 and launched in May 1915.

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Tucker was part of the second U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas.

Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Tucker made several rescues of passengers and crew from ships sunk by U-boats.

In March 1926, Tucker was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol".

She operated under the name USCGC Tucker (CG-23) until 1933; during her Coast Guard service, she was the first American ship to arrive at the crash site of Navy airship Akron.

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Conyngham was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas.

Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Conyngham made several rescues of passengers and crew from ships sunk by U-boats.

In June 1924, Conyngham was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol".

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Porter was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas.

In June 1924, Porter was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol".

[19] Wadsworth's geared steam turbine power plant was a successful prototype that greatly influenced U.S. destroyer designs after 1915.

Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Wadsworth reported several encounters with U-boats in the first months overseas.

[19] USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)[Note 2] was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding of Camden, New Jersey, in August 1914 and launched in May of the following year.

Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Jacob Jones rescued the survivors of several ships, notably picking up over 300 from the sunken armed merchant cruiser Orama.

[16] On 6 December, Jacob Jones was steaming independently from Brest, France, for Queenstown, when she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-53 with the loss of 66 officers and men, becoming the first United States destroyer sunk by enemy action, and the only destroyer lost to the enemy by the US Navy in World War I.

[20] Jacob Jones sank in eight minutes without issuing a distress call; the German submarine commander, Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose, after rescuing two badly injured Jacob Jones crewmen, radioed the American base at Queenstown with the coordinates for the survivors before leaving the area.

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Wainwright was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas.

In April 1926, Wainwright was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol".