HMS Mermaid was a Hawthorn Leslie three-funnel, 30 knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates. She was launched in 1898, served during World War I and was sold for breaking in 1919.

The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a "turtleback" forecastle and that they all had three funnels. The funnels were spaced equidistantly and were of equal height, but the central one was thicker.