HMS Blanche ( H47 ) HMS " Blanche " ( H47 ) was a built for the Royal Navy around 1930 . During the Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939 , the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters , enforcing the non - intervention measures agreed by Britain and France . She was attacked , but not damaged , by Nationalist bomber s in early 1938 and was subsequently transferred to the Home Fleet . " Blanche " was sunk by a mine in November 1939 , becoming the first British destroyer lost to enemy action in World War II . Description . " Blanche " displaced at standard load and at deep load . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines , driving two shafts , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3 - drum water - tube boilers . " Blanche " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 134 officers and men , although it increased to 142 during wartime . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre QF 4 . 7 - inch Mk IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Blanche " had two QF 2 - pounder Mk II AA guns mounted on a platform between her funnels . She was fitted with two above - water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes . One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted ; 20 depth charges were originally carried , but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began . Career . The ship was ordered on 4 March 1929 from Hawthorn Leslie of Hebburn , under the 1928 Naval Programme . She was laid down on 29 July 1929 , and launched on 29 May 1930 , as the tenth RN ship to carry this name . " Blanche " was completed on 14 February 1931 at a cost of £225 , 195 , excluding items supplied by the Admiralty such as guns , ammunition and communications equipment . After her commissioning , she was assigned to the 4th Destroyer Flotilla with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1936 . The ship was refitted that year and reassigned , with her flotilla , to Home Fleet , after its completion . " Blanche " spent six months deployed off the southern Spanish coast during the Spanish Civil War , based in Gibraltar . She was attacked by five Nationalist bomber s on 6 March 1938 , but they all missed . The ship received a brief overhaul at Portsmouth between 1 April and 11 June 1938 and was then assigned to the anti - submarine flotilla based at the Isle of Portland . During the Munich Crisis , " Blanche " was one of the destroyers that escorted the ocean liner and the battleship in the English Channel on 30 September . She was given a more thorough refit in Sheerness Dockyard between 1 April and 15 July 1939 and became the emergency destroyer at the Nore upon its completion . " Blanche " was assigned to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla when World War II began and spent the next two months escorting convoys and patrolling in the Channel and North Sea . The ship and her sister were escorting the minelayer on the morning of 13 November in the Thames Estuary when they entered a minefield laid the night before by several German destroyers . " Adventure " and " Blanche " both struck mines ; the latter lost all power and capsized at 0950 . One man was killed and twelve more were wounded . She was the first British destroyer sunk by the Germans during the war .