HMS Lance (1914)

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HMS Lance, a Royal Navy destroyer, in tandem with HMS Landrail, fired the first British shot of the First World War, on August 5, 1914 in an action that resulted in the sinking of the German minelayer Konigin Luise in the North Sea. Both Lance and Landrail were part of the British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (based at Harwich), which had been deployed at dawn on the first day of the war as part of a squadron of destroyers doing a sweep of the North Sea. As World War One officially started at 2300 GMT on August 4, 1914, this first British shot occurred within twelve hours of the commencement of hostilities.

The target of the Lance and Landrail was the converted excursion steamer Königin Luise, which had been pressed into service of the Imperial German Navy as a minelayer. It was while she was laying mines that the two Royal Navy Destroyers encountered her. The Königin Luise was scuttled when her captain realized that escape was impossible.

The actual gun from HMS Lance (QF 4 in L/40 Mark IV) that fired this shot is on display in the Imperial War Museum, London. The name of the gunlayer who fired the shot however has been lost to history.