HMS Pelorus displaced 2,135 tons and had a top speed of . It had reciprocating triple expansion engines and Normand water-tube boilers which could give for limited periods of time with forced draught, and under natural draught. It carried a crew complement of 224 men and it was armed with eight QF 4 inch (102 mm) (25 pounder) guns, eight QF 3 pounder (47-mm) guns, three machine guns, and two 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes. In 1901, the ship was stationed at Gibraltar as part of the Channel Squadron under the command of Commander Ernest C J Troubridge.