She was built under the 1910-11 shipbuilding programme by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton[1] and was launched on 11 July 1911. She and her sister-ship Beaver were completed with geared steam turbines for evaluation purposes and were known as "Parsons Specials".[2]
| Pennant number[3] | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H15 | 6 December 1914 | 1 September 1915 | |
| H52 | 1 September 1915 | 1 January 1918 | |
| H09 | 1 January 1918 | Early 1919 | |
| H91 | Early 1919 | 9 May 1921 |
Badger served with the First Destroyer Flotilla from 1911 and, with her flotilla, joined the British Grand Fleet in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.
She was present on 28 August 1914 at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, detached from the First Destroyer Flotilla along with Jackal, Beaver and Sandfly.[4] She shared in the prize money for the engagement.[5]
On 24 October 1914 she became the first Allied ship to successfully attack a German Navy U-boat when she rammed off the Dutch coast. U-19 was severely damaged but managed to return to port, was repaired and survived the war.
The 1st Destroyer Flotilla served at Jutland; it was Badgers distressing duty to rescue the crew of, which had blown up after a German salvo penetrated the magazines. Of the crew of 1,021, only two officers and four crew were rescued. Badgers commanding officer at the time of the battle was Commander C A Fremantle.[6]
On 17 April 1917 at 1930 hrs, was torpedoed four miles northeast of Le Havre by while bound for Southampton. At the time she had 387 patients, of which 167 were German prisoners of war, and of these patients, 326 were cot-bound. Approximately 570 survivors were picked up by Badger and, aided by and the French patrol boat Roitelet, and taken to Portsmouth.[7]
Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Corlett received the Italian Naval Decoration for service off Durazzo in Albania while serving as the captain of HMS Badger.[8]
At 0700 hrs on 4 February 1918, Badger joined convoy HX-20 along with seven other Royal Navy destroyers from Lough Swilly, Northern Ireland. At 1845 the next day, while transiting the North Channel, SS Tuscania of 14,348 GRT was torpedoed by . The ship was packed with United States soldiers, and 210 people died in the sinking.[9]
In common with most of her class, she was laid up after the First World War and in May 1921 she was sold for breaking.