HMS Derwent was a Hawthorn Leslie-type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1901 – 1902 Naval Estimates.

After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at Harwich.

After 30 September 1913, she was known as an E-class destroyer and had the letter ‘E’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.

She was equipped with depth charges for use in anti-submarine patrols, escorting of merchant ships and defending the Dover Barrage.

On 2 May 1917 she struck a contact mine, laid by German submarine UC-26, off Le Havre, France.