HMS Tartar was a of the Royal Navy launched in 1907 and sold in 1921. During the First World War, she served in the North Sea and the English Channel with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. Construction and design HMS Tartar was ordered from the Southampton shipbuilder John I. Thornycroft & Company under the 1905–06 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy, one of five s ordered under that programme. The Tribals derived from a requirement by the First Sea Lord "Jackie" Fisher, for a steam turbine powered, oil-fueled destroyer capable of at least . Armament was specified as three 12-pounder () 12 cwt guns and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. While the Admiralty laid down the basic requirements, the details of the design of individual ships was left to the builders, although the builder's designs did need to be approved by the Director of Naval Construction before orders were placed. This meant that individual ships of the class differed significantly from each other. Tartar was long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal and deep load. Tartar had a turtleback forecastle, but with a raised bow compared with (also fitted with a turtleback forecastle), thus avoiding the seakeeping problems that forced Mohawk to be rebuilt with a raised forecastle. Six Thornycroft boilers (in three boiler rooms) fed steam to turbines driving three propeller shafts. The main high-pressure turbine drove the centre shaft, with the outer shafts being fitted with low-pressure turbines, together with cruise and astern turbines. Four funnels were fitted. The ship's machinery was rated at . The ship had a complement of 74 officers and ratings. Tartar was laid down at Thornycroft's Woolston shipyard on 13 November 1905 and launched on 25 June 1907. Tartar made during sea trials, with one run during final trials on 16 December reaching a speed of , a speed record. She was completed in April 1908. It had been realised during construction that the armament of the Tribals was too light, so it was decided to strengthen the armament of the first five ships of the class by adding another two 12-pounder guns. The two guns were added to Tartar following acceptance by the Royal Navy. Service Tartar formed part of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet when it was formed in 1909 and remained part of this formation until 1913,