HMS Espiegle was a Cadmus Class Sloop. The Cadmus class was a six-ship class of 10-gun screw steel sloops built for the Royal Navy between 1900 and 1903.

Design: The Cadmus class was constructed of copper-sheathed steel to a design by William White, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction. Propulsion was provided by a three-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine developing 1,400 horsepower (1,000 kW) and driving twin screws. They were an evolution of the Condor-class sloop, carrying more coal, which in turn gave a greater length and displacement. This class comprised the very last screw sloops built for the Royal Navy, and Espiegle was the last Royal Navy ship built with a figurehead.
Sail plan: As designed and built the class was fitted with a barquentine-rigged sailplan. After HMS Condor was lost in a gale in 1901, the Admiralty abandoned sails entirely. Espiegle was never fitted with sails, and all other ships of the class had their sails removed before 1914.
Armament: The class was armed with six 4in/25pdr (1ton) Quick Firing Breech loaders and four 3-pounder Quick Firing Breach Loaders, as well as several machine guns.

HMS Espiegle was built by Sheerness Dockyard, launched 8/12/1900. Sold in Bombay 7/9/1923. HMS Espiegle was the last RN ship to be built with a figurehead on the bow.

On commissioning, Espiegle joined the China Station. Due to the threat to British subjects and interests in Yingkou (then known as Newchwang) from the Russo-Japanese war, she was sent to the Liao River during 1903-1904, where she wintered in the river in a mud dock dug out for her. Once the ice had melted she made passage to Wei-hai-wei, passing Port Arthur at daylight on 13 April 1904, witnessing exchanges of fire between Japanese and Russian ships.

In 1914 Espiegle was on the East Indies Station. By September it had become clear that Turkey was preparing for war, and it was only a matter of time before she entered the conflict on Germany's side. In anticipation, three Royal Navy vessels, HMS Espiegle,HMS Odin and HMS Dalhousie entered the Shatt-al-Arab in order to protect the Abadan Island oil refineries.

Soon thereafter, on October 7th, a formal letter from the Turkish Government was delivered to the HMS Espiegle essentially stating that the RN ships were violating Turkish sovereignty and that they must depart from the Shatt-al-Arab within 24 hours. The British however, were unwilling to leave their interests defenseless, and in any event, since one bank of the Shatt belonged to Persia, Turkey's control over it was not absolute. Throughout the rest of October, the Turks and the Royal Navy sat in an uneasy peace, with both sides hurriedly preparing for the war they knew was coming.

On October 31st, the Commander of the Espiegle learnt through a telegram that the Turkish Navy had bombarded the Russian port of Odessa in the Black Sea on October 28th, thus effectively declaring war. On November 5th, Great Britain officially declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The very next day, the HMS Espiegle engaged and silenced a significant body of Turks who had constructed a series of trenches opposite Abadan island in a hotly contested affair. The war in