Tartarus had a length at the gun deck of 145feet and 125feet at the keel. She had a beam of 28feet, a draught of 10feet and a depth of hold of 14feet. The ship's tonnage was 523 tons burthen and she displaced 560LT.[1] The Tartarus class was initially armed with a pair of 9-pounder cannon, but these were later exchanged for a single 32-pounder smoothbore cannon on a pivot mount and a pair of 32-pounder carronades. The ships had a crew of 80 officers and ratings.[2]
Tartarus, the third ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,[3] was ordered on 2 July 1833, laid down in September 1833 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 23 June 1834.[2] She was completed on 3 October 1834 at Woolwich Dockyard and commissioned on 27 August of the same year.[1]