As a part of that duty in October 1916, she was one of several U.S. destroyers sent to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine U-53 off the Lightship Nantucket.

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Benham was sent overseas to patrol the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland.

However, before Benham departed for overseas service during World War I, her original single gun mounts had been restored.

In February and March, Benham conducted a shakedown cruise to the West Indies and, in April, began operations out of Hampton Roads, Virginia.

[1] On 6 April, Benham and sister ships Aylwin and Parker were exercising off the North Carolina coast,[12] about 15 nautical miles (28 km) off the Diamond Shoals lightship.

Benham loaded the three wounded sailors and sped to the naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia, while Parker took on the remainder of Aylwin's crew.

[15] Prior to the entrance of the United States into World War I, she served on Neutrality Patrol duty, trying to protect American and neutral-flagged merchant ships from interference by British or German warships and U-boats.

At 05:30 on 8 October, wireless reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the Lightship Nantucket, off the eastern end of Long Island.

After an SOS from the British steamship West Point was received at about 12:30, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves ordered Benham and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors.

[21] After the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, Benham was one of the first group of destroyers chosen for anti-submarine duty in European waters.

The destroyer continued her patrols out of Queenstown until June 1918 when she moved to Brest, France, her base of operations through the end of the war.

[1] In September 1917, during her European wartime service, Benham was rammed by the British Azalea-class sloop HMS Zinnia.

A photograph from the U.S. Navy's Naval History & Heritage Command website shows a nearly sunken Benham moored between two ships.

Active again in 1921, she patrolled the eastern seaboard until assigned duty as plane guard and tender to the Atlantic Fleet Air Squadrons.

[1] The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 March 1935,[5] and, on 23 April, was ordered scrapped at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.