Lance inGrand Harbour, 8 January 1942
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMSLance
Ordered	31 March 1938
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders,Scotstoun,Glasgow
Laid down	1 March 1939
Launched	28 November 1940
Commissioned	13 May 1941
Fate	Damaged by bombs on 5 and 9 April 1942. Declared a constructive total loss and scrapped.
Badge	Badge: On a Field barry wavy of four White and Blue, issuant from the base a Lance Red.
General characteristics
Class and type	L-classdestroyer
Displacement	1,920 tons
Length	362.5 ft (110.5 m)
Beam	36.7 ft (11.2 m)
Draught	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion	Two shafts Two geared steam turbines Two drum-type boilers 48000 shp (35.8 MW)
Speed	36kt (66.7 km/h)
Range	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	221
Armament	4 × twin[1]QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk XVI guns 1 × quadrupleQF 2 pdr Mk VIII L/39 (40 mm) 2 × quadrupleQF 0.5 in Mk III Vickers (12.7 mm) 2 × quadruple21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes

HMSLance was anL-classdestroyer of theRoyal Navy. She entered service duringWorld War II, and had a short but eventful career, serving in Home waters and theMediterranean Sea. She was damaged in two consecutive air attacks atMalta in 1942. She was towed back to Britain, declared a constructive total loss and was scrapped. She had been adopted by the civil community ofBexley andWelling,Kent in November 1941.

Lance was ordered from the yards ofYarrow Shipbuilders,Scotstoun,Glasgow on 31 March 1938 under the 1937 Naval Estimates. She was laid down on 1 March 1939 at the same time as her sister,Laforey. She was launched on 28 November 1940 and commissioned on 13 May 1941. She cost £440,204, excluding items such as weapons and communications equipment supplied by theAdmiralty. On commissioning she was assigned to the4th Destroyer Flotilla.

Once commissioned,Lance was based atScapa Flow with other ships of theHome Fleet. On 22 May she escorted thebattleshipKing George V in the search for theGerman battleship Bismarck. She suffered machinery defects whilst at sea and was detached from the Home Fleet units and returned to Scapa Flow. She rejoined the search on 26 May, and then escortedKing George V back to the UK after the sinking ofBismarck.

In June she was assigned to theWestern Approaches Command with the 11th Escort Group, based atGreenock. On 22 June she andLegion escorted theaircraft carrierFurious through theAtlantic Ocean toGibraltar as part of an operation to deliver aircraft toMalta. She continued to participate in the operation, escorting the aircraft carrierArk Royal and other units of theMediterranean Fleet to Malta throughout the month. She returned to Greenock in July and resumed escort and convoy defence duties.

August was spent escorting convoys through theNorth Western Approaches before she returned to Gibraltar at the end of the month to escort convoys into the Mediterranean. She continued to screen theconvoys to Malta and was part of the escort for the convoys ofOperation Halberd. During this the ships came under heavy air and submarine attack, but managed to reach Malta. After this success,Lance returned to Gibraltar with the other ships of the Fleet. She began a maintenance period on 1 October, which lasted until 12 October. She then joined Force K, which was tasked with intercepting enemy supply convoys on passage to North Africa. On 9 November the task force engaged a convoy which consisted of seven ships escorted by the Italian destroyersFulmine,Euro,Maestrale,Libeccio,Alfredo Oriani andGrecale, covered by the cruisersTrento andTrieste. In the ensuing battle, which became known as theBattle of the Duisburg Convoy, all of themerchant vessels andFulmine were sunk.

On 23 NovemberLance left Malta with the rest of Force K, after reports of a convoy on passage fromTaranto toBenghazi. On 24 November they sighted the German supply shipsMaritza andProcidas with an escort of two Italian torpedo boats. Both merchants were set on fire and sunk. After a brief period docked in Malta,Lance returned to convoy escort duties. On 17 December she became involved in theFirst Battle of Sirte. On 19 December she assisted in rescue operations after several ships of Force K ran into a newly laid Italian minefield. WithHavock she escorted the cruiserExeter back to Malta.Kandahar andNeptune were sunk, whilstAurora andPenelope were badly damaged.

Lance spent January 1942 escorting convoys in the Mediterranean and in February she was transferred to the22nd Destroyer Flotilla. Further escort duties followed. On 13 February she was escortingConvoy MW-9 when it came under air attack. The merchant vesselClan Campbell was badly damaged and was detached to make her way toTobruk, escorted by two destroyers. Further air attacks followed the next day and the convoy suffered heavy losses.Lance remained with the convoy until 15 February when she sailed to Malta withPenelope andLegion. On 16 February she was moved to the dockyard to undergo repairs.

In MarchLance was docked for repairs that were expected to last until April. On 5 April she was hit by a bomb dropped during an air raid on the docks. She sustained serious damage, including being knocked off the blocks and being partially submerged. On 9 April she suffered further bomb damage in an attack byJunkers Ju 87 aircraft fromSturzkampfgeschwader 3 and work was suspended. Her wreck was subsequently salvaged and towed toChatham Dockyard for a full survey to establish the extent of repair that would be required to return her to service. She was found to be beyond economical repair and was declared a Constructive Total Loss.Lance was placed on the Disposal List in 1944 and was sold for demolition byThos. W. Ward. She was towed to the breaker's yard at Thos. W. Ward Grays,Essex, where she arrived in June that year.

The White Ensign for HMSLance is laid up in the Seaman's Chapel of Lincoln Cathedral.

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• English, John (2001).Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society.ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
• Friedman, Norman (2006).British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998).British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
• March, Edgar J. (1966).British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service.OCLC 164893555.
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• "Allied Warships: Destroyer HMS Lance of the L class". Retrieved17 December 2007.
• Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd) (2002)."HMS LANCE – L-class Destroyer". Retrieved17 December 2007.

• L and M-class destroyers of the Royal Navy
• Ships built on the River Clyde
• 1940 ships
• World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
• Maritime incidents in April 1942

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• Use dmy dates from December 2016
• Use British English from December 2016