Together with the six preceding Caldwell-class and following 156 subsequent Clemson-class destroyers, they were grouped as the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" type.

Only a few were completed in time to serve in World War I, including USS Wickes, the lead ship of the class.

Most of these were converted to other uses; nearly all in U.S. service had half their boilers and one or more stacks removed to increase fuel and range or accommodate troops.

[3] During the Spanish–American War, it was realized that a torpedo boat destroyer was urgently needed to screen the larger warships, so much so that a special war plans board headed by Theodore Roosevelt issued an urgent report pleading for this type of ship.

[5] The lesson of these early destroyers was the appreciation of the need for true seakeeping and seagoing abilities.

A report in October 1915 by Captain W. S. Sims noted that the smaller destroyers used fuel far too quickly, and that wargames showed the need for fast vessels with a larger radius of action.

The Naval Appropriation Act of 1916 called for a navy "second to none," capable of protecting both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

General dissatisfaction with the earlier "1,000 ton" designs (Cassin and Tucker classes) led to the fuller hull form of the "flush deck" type.

As construction was undertaken by ten different builders, there was considerable variation in the types of boilers and turbines installed to meet a guaranteed speed requirement.

The fleet found that the tapered stern, which made for a nice depth charge deployment feature, dug into the water and increased the turning radius, thus hampering anti-submarine work.

[10] Production of these destroyers was considered so important that work on cruisers and battleships was delayed to allow completion of the program.

[11][20] A few Wickes class were completed in time for service in World War I, some with the battle fleet, some on convoy escort duty; none were lost.

This was mostly due to a blanket replacement of 61 Yarrow-boilered destroyers 1930–31, as these boilers wore out quickly in service.

Most ships remaining in service during World War II were rearmed with dual-purpose 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns for better anti-aircraft protection.

Nearly all had half the boilers removed, for increased fuel and range or to accommodate troops, reducing their speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

Together with ships from the Caldwell and Clemson classes they were grouped as 'Town-class destroyers'; divided into the Bath Iron Works design as "Type B" and the Bethlehem Steel as "Type C" Most of these ships were refitted much like the U.S. destroyers and used as convoy escorts, but some were used very little and were not considered worth refitting.

Buchanan, renamed HMS Campbeltown, was disguised as a German vessel and expended as a blockship in the St Nazaire Raid.

In 1944 seven were transferred by Britain to the Soviet Navy, in place of Italian ships claimed by the USSR after Italy's surrender.