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

In 1899 during the construction of these ships, steelmaker John Brown and Company of Sheffield bought J&G Thomson's Clydebank yard for £923,255 3s 3d.

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.

[5] In 1914 she was undergoing refit at the Nore based at Sheerness tendered to HMS Actaeon, a Royal Navy training establishment.