HMS Doris had a displacement of 5,690 tonnes (5,600 long tons) at an overall length of 113.7 m, width of 16.3 m and draft of 6.25 m. The ship was driven by two triple-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines, supplied by 8 coal-fired boilers, which moved a pair of propellers.

[3] She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII,[4] and visited Souda Bay, Crete for combined maneuvers with other ships of the Channel and Cruiser squadrons the following month.

Closing in, her crew discovered it was a Turkish defensive position in the course of construction, and Captain Larken gave orders to open fire with one of the ship's main guns.

Anchoring off the harbour of Alexandretta, Larken sent word to the Military Governor of the town demanding that "All munitions of war, mines and locomotives" be handed over to his crew to be destroyed, and that all British and Allied subjects be surrendered to him, along with their families and effects.

Not only did Djemal Pasha refuse the demands, but he threatened that, if Larken opened fire on Alexandretta, one British captive would be shot for every Ottoman subject killed in the bombardment.

[12] In the event, negotiations were carried out through the American Consul in Alexandretta, and the Turks took the opportunity to evacuate all military stores and equipment from the town, before two railway locomotives were destroyed in a token gesture.

On 25 April 1915, Doris participated in a shore bombardment near Bulair along the western coast of the Gallipoli peninsula, intended as a diversionary feint for the main troop landings at Cape Helles area.