HMS Bat was a Palmer-built three funnel, 30 knot torpedo boat destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895 – 1896 Naval Estimates. She was the third ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1815 for a revenue cutter in service until 1848. Bat was classified along with similar vessels as a C-class destroyer in 1913. Construction HMS Bat was one of four 30-knotter destroyers (Bat, , and ) ordered from Palmer's of Jarrow-on-Tyne on 8 January 1896 as part of the 1895–1896 shipbuilding programme, following on from two destroyers ( and ) ordered from Palmer's on 23 December 1895 as part of the same programme. Bats hull was long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . Four Reed water tube boilers fed steam at to triple expansion steam engines rated at and driving two propeller shafts. Displacement was light and full load. Three funnels were fitted, and 91 tons of coal carried. Bat, like the other "thirty-knotters" was contractually required to maintain a speed of for a continuous run of three hours and over 6 consecutively measured runs of during sea trials. Armament was specified as a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt () gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), backed up by five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. She had a crew of 60 to 63 officers and men. Batwas laid down as Yard number 712 on 28 May 1896 at the Palmer shipyard at Jarrow and launched on 7 October 1896. The ship made an average speed of in a three-hour run during Sea trials on 17 July 1897. She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in August 1897. Service Pre-War After commissioning Bat was assigned to the 2nd Fleet and based at Devonport on training duties. On 22 September 1897, Bat entered into the Fleet Reserve at Portsmouth. On 27 November 1987, Bat was commissioned at Portsmouth by the crew of the destroyer for service with the Devonport Instructional Flotilla. In October 1898, the ship became the first destroyer in the Royal Navy to receive a torpedo fitted for a gyroscope. In 1899 she was the leader of the Devonport Flotilla under the command of Commander Alexander Ludovic Duff during exercises in July. The following month