Tancred was one of twenty-three R-class destroyer delivered to the British Admiralty as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme.

[1] The design was generally similar to the preceding M class, but differed in having geared steam turbines, the aft gun mounted on a raised platform and minor changes to improve seakeeping.

A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[4] Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the second and third funnels.

[5] Ordered in March 1916 at a contract price of £172,316, Tancred was laid down at the William Beardmore and Company shipyard in Dalmuir with the yard number 556 on 6 July 1916.

[6] Launched on 30 June the following year and completed on 1 September, the destroyer was the first ship named for the Christian knight in Torquato Tasso's poem Jerusalem Delivered, a fictional character based on Tancred, Prince of Galilee.