On the night of 22 July 1916, two light cruisers and eight destroyers of the Harwich Force set out on a patrol to prevent German torpedo boats based in Flanders from interfering with shipping traffic between Britain and the Netherlands. One group, consisting of the light cruiser and four destroyers, was to patrol off the Mass estuary, while the second group, led by the cruiser and including "Melpomene", was to patrol off the North Hinder light vessel. Seven German destroyers of II Flotilla had set out from Zeebrugge on a mission to lay lines near the North Hinder light vessel, and at 00:15 on 23 July, "Carysfort"s group sighted the German force, which turned away and escaped under the cover of a smoke screen and a rain storm. The "Canterbury" group, including "Matchless", was ordered to proceed to the Schouwen Bank to intercept the Germans. They encountered the Germans at about 01:45, and set off in pursuit. could not keep up with the chase and lagged behind, while kept station with the lagging "Matchless", leaving the chase to "Melpomene" and . The two destroyers were recalled by "Canterbury", but "Melpomene" did not respond to the recall order and continued the chase alone. The German destroyers managed to reach the safety of minefields and coastal defences near Zeebrugge, and the British broke off the chase. "Melpomene" was hit by a German shell which killed one and wounded two more of her crew. On 19 August, the German High Seas Fleet carried out a raid into the North Sea, with the intention of bombarding Sunderland and luring the British battlecruisers into an engagement with superior forces. The British were warned of the German sortie by radio intercepts, and as part of the British response, the seaplane carrier put out from Harwich with "Melpomene" as escort, but the weather was too poor for aircraft operations and "Vindex" returned to harbour.