HMS Fawn was a Palmer three funnel, 30 knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates.

[6] On 2 April 1902 she was commissioned to relieve the destroyer Hardy at the Mediterranean station,[7] under the command of Lieutenant Robert W.

[10] In September 1902 she visited Nauplia with other ships of the fleet,[11] and in early January 1903 there was a similar three-weeks cruise in the Greek islands around Corfu.

On 30 August 1912, the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'.

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