Armament was specified as a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (3in calibre) 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 [REF].
The ship was laid down as Yard Number 298 on 2 September 1896 at Thompson's shipyard in Clydebank and launched on 25 March 1898.