In 1916 Lord Clive was stationed in the Thames Estuary with 12-inch shrapnel shells for use against Zeppelins, although no airship came within range. The deployment was publicized as propaganda, and its threat may also have kept German airships away. On 8 June, her new six-inch guns helped monitors and destroyers repel twelve German vessels trying to clear the Dover Barrage's nets and sweep its minefields. On 8 July, Lord Clive and French 9.4-inch guns fired blanks to mask the new Dominion Battery as it engaged the Tirpitz battery near Ostend. A dummy second funnel was intended to make Lord Clive look like a new monitor, but the Germans recognized the deception and fired on the French position. King Albert and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium visited the monitor during this period.
Chapter · 17:47-20:32
Lord Clive on air defense, the Dover Barrage, and deception
The monitor's varied 1916 duties ranged from a publicized anti-Zeppelin role to defending the Dover Barrage and masking a new coastal battery.