HMS Otter was a Vickers three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895–1896 Naval Estimates.

[3][4] Otter was commissioned at Devonport on 27 March 1900 for the China Station, serving as tender to HMS Goliath on her way out.

[7] 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.

[9] NOTE: All tabular data under General Characteristics only from the listed Jane's Fighting Ships volume unless otherwise specified