The SS Königin Luise was a German steam ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

. She operated between Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 and Holland

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, before being taken over by the Kaiserliche Marine

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

 on the outbreak of the First World War. She was used as an auxiliary minelayer

Minelayer

Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

 before being sunk on 5 August 1914.

Construction and early career

Königin Luise was laid down at AG Vulcan Stettin in 1913, and launched on 8 May 1913 for service with the Hamburg America Line

Hamburg America Line

The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...

. After serving for sometime as a ferry, she was requisitioned by the Kaiserliche Marine on 3 August 1914 to serve as an auxiliary minelayer, carrying 200 naval mines. She was fitted with two revolver cannons, and there were plans to fit her with two 88 mm guns, but the British entry to the war on 4 August led to the navy pressing Königin Luise into immediate action. She was disguised in the black, buff, and yellow colours of the steamers of the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

 that sailed between Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

 and the Hook of Holland, and sailed from Emden

Emden

Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...

 on the night of 4 August. Her captain, Commander Biermann, had orders to lay mines off the Thames Estuary

Thames Estuary

The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...

.

Minelaying and encounter with the British

Königin Luise was able to lay a number of mines off the coast during the night, but was sighted by a number of fishing vessels. The light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 HMS Amphion

HMS Amphion (1911)

HMS Amphion was an Active-class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 4 December 1911. She became the first ship of the Royal Navy to be sunk in the First World War...

 of the Harwich Force

Harwich Force

The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...

 and a number of destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s of the 3rd Flotilla sailed early in the morning of 5 August and headed towards Heligoland Bight

Heligoland Bight

The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river...

. On the way they encountered a fishing boat, whose occupants informed the British force that they had seen an unknown ship "throwing things over the side" about 20 miles north of the Outer Gabbard. Amphion and the destroyers set off to investigate.

The taskforce spotted Königin Luise at 10:25, and the destroyers HMS Lance

HMS Lance (1914)

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 and the Battle off Texel...

 and HMS Landrail moved to investigate. Königin Luise fled at her top speed, moving into a rain squall, where she proceeded to lay more mines. Lance and Landrail gave chase, signalling to the rest of the force that they were engaging. Lance opened fire, the first British shot of the war. Amphion soon closed and also began to fire on the fleeing Königin Luise. The German ship attempted to escape to neutral waters to the south-east, while leading the pursuing British through her minefield, but under heavy and accurate fire, Commander Biermann ordered the scuttling of the ship. The surviving crew abandoned ship, and the Königin Luise rolled over to port and sank at 12:22. 46 of the 100 crew were rescued by the British ships. She was the first German Naval loss of the war.

Loss of the Amphion

The British ships continued their patrol, before heading back to port that evening. Their course took them through the minefield the Königin Luise had previously laid, and at 06:45 on the morning of 6 August Amphion struck one of the mines. Heavily damaged, she was abandoned, with her crew being taken off by the escorting destroyers The Amphion drifted back into the minefield, struck another mine at 07:03 and sank, becoming the first British Naval war loss, with those killed being the first British casualties of the war.