HMS Lance (1914)
QF 4 inch Mk IV gun from HMS Lance that fired the first British shot of World War I.
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Lance |
| Ordered: | 29 March 1912 |
| Builder: | John I. Thornycroft & Company |
| Laid down: | 1 August 1912 |
| Launched: | 25 February 1914 |
| Completed: | August 1914 |
| Fate: | Sold and broken up November 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Laforey-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 965-1,300 tons |
| Length: | 269 ft (82 m) |
| Beam: | 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
| Propulsion: | Water-tube boilers, Parsons steam turbines, 2 shafts, 24,500 shp |
| Speed: | 29 knots (54 km/h) |
| Complement: | 73 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Lance was a Laforey-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Launched a few months before the outbreak of the First World War and attached to the Harwich Force, Lance took part in several engagements during the war, including the sinking of the Königin Luise and the Battle off Texel. She was responsible for firing the first British shot of the war.
HMS Lance was originally to be named Daring but the entire Laforey-class had their names changed to alphabetically homogeneous ones in 1913.Lance was ordered on 29 March 1912 from John I. Thornycroft & Company and was laid down on 1 August 1912. The ship was launched on 25 February 1914 and completed in August 1914.
Lance had an overall length of 268 feet 10 inches (81.94 m) with a beam of 27 feet 8 inches (8.43 m) and a draught of 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m). She was fitted with three QF Mk IV (102 mm) guns, a single QF 2 pdr pom-pom Mk. II, and four torpedo tubes in two twin mounts.
Following the start of the First World War at 2300 GMT on 4 August 1914, Lance, assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force, took part in a sweep of the North Sea. The next day, Lance and her sister ship Landrail were sent to investigate a report from a trawler of a ship dropping mines. The two destroyers encountered the German minelayer and former excursion steamer Königin Luise deploying mines. Lance fired a shell from one of her 4-inch guns at Königin Luise which was the first British shot of the war. The minelayer at first attempted to flee, but when her captain realised that escape was impossible, he ordered her to be scuttled instead. Lance picked up 28 survivors from the German ship. Lance′s gun is on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.
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