_off_North_Carolina_1996.JPEG) HMSFearless off North Carolina, 9 May 1996 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Fearless |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
| Laid down | 25 July 1962 |
| Launched | 19 December 1963 |
| Sponsored by | Lady Hull, wife ofField Marshal Sir Richard Hull |
| Commissioned | 25 November 1965 |
| Decommissioned | 18 March 2002 |
| Identification |
|
| Motto |
|
| Fate | ScrappedGhent harbour (BE) 2008 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Fearless-classlanding platform dock |
| Displacement | 12,120 tons (full load) |
| Length | 520 ft (160 m) |
| Beam | 80 ft (24 m) |
| Draught | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 ×English Electric 2 shaft gearedsteam turbines. 22,000 shp (16,000 kW) total |
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Complement | 580 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | Landing platform for up to 5Sea King helicopters. |
HMSFearless (L10) was aRoyal Navy amphibious assault ship that served from 1965 until 2002. One of twoFearless-classlanding platform docks, she was based inHMNBPortsmouth and saw service around the world over her 37-year life. She was the last steam-powered surface ship in the Royal Navy.[1]
The ship featured a floodable internal dock, accessed via a ramp at the stern for vehicles to embark, at sea, the stern would be partially submerged, allowing landing craft to load or unload vehicles and personnel directly from the deck. She carried fourLanding Craft Utility (LCU)s in the well dock and four smallerLanding Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) mounted ondavits along the superstructure. Accommodation was provided for up to 400 embarked troops, which could be increased to 700.
The landing platform docks (LPD) supported aRoyal Marines amphibious assault force and provided a platform for the Headquarters capability prior to, and during, the assault phase. The Royal Marines served aboard as the 4th Assault Squadron. The Squadron included crew for the four LCU, four LCVP and the Beach Party, which was equipped with aLand Rover, a Bedford 4-ton truck, two tractor units, one a track layer, the other equipped with a bucket, and aCenturion BARV. The squadron also had duties aboard, (ensuring equipment and troops got to shore as they were needed), radio operators and administration.
Fearless was the first purpose-built landing platform dock (LPD) commissioned by the Royal Navy. Constructed inBelfast byHarland and Wolff, she was launched in 1963 and completed sea trials before entering service in 1965.
Her first operational deployment involved acting as a command platform for British counter-terrorism operations inAden, where she supportedRoyal Air Force aircraft and embarked elements of theIrish Guards. During the British withdrawal, she served as flagship of a 25-platform task group.
In 1968, following her service in Aden,Fearless was used as the venue for discussions betweenHarold Wilson andIan Smith regarding the future ofRhodesia. Smith's government had issued aUnilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in defiance of Britain's position on ending white minority rule.
Between 1969 and 1970,Fearless was commanded by CaptainJohn Gerard-Pearse.[2] During this period, she undertook a tour of the Far East and provided emergency aid toBangladesh following theBhola cyclone, transporting 59Royal Engineers Squadron, later reformed as59 Independent Commando Squadron.
In July 1972,Fearless transported several CenturionAVREdemolition vehicles, derived from theCenturion tank, toNorthern Ireland for deployment underOperation Motorman.[3]
Fearless appeared in the 1977James Bond filmThe Spy Who Loved Me, portraying the vessel that recovers Bond's escape pod and filmed the previous year nearMalta.[4]
Fearless was part of the British naval force committed to Operation Corporate during the 1982Falklands War. Equipped with modern satellite communications, she hosted the headquarters staff ofCommodore Michael Clapp theCommodore Amphibious Warfare (COMAW),Brigadier Julian Thompson, Commanding Officer of3 Commando Brigade, and elite elements of the landing force.
Two of her landing craft were instrumental in rescue operations following the bombing ofHMS Ardent. Royal Marine Coxswain Corporal Alan White received a commendation from AdmiralSir John Fieldhouse after rescuing 41 crew in Foxtrot 7, one of fourLCVPs aboardFearless. Foxtrot 7 is now preserved at the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth.
Colour Sergeant Brian Johnston was awarded theQueen's Gallantry Medal for rescuing more ofAntelope's crew in Foxtrot 4, aLanding Craft Utility (LCU). On the 8 June he and five of the crew were killed, in an attack by fourA‑4Q Skyhawks of theArgentine Navy.[5] Foxtrot 4 was replaced and renamed FJ in Johnston's memory.
Lieutenant Ricardo Lucero of theArgentine Air Force was shot down while attacking British ships in San Carlos Water on 25 May 1982. He ejected and was rescued by aFearless LCU.[6][7] He was treated aboard then transferred to the hospital shipUganda.[7] Lucero was killed in an air crash in March 2010.[8]
The BARV fromFearless was stuck in deep mud whilst pushing an LCU ofBlue Beach.
After the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982,Fearless continued to support the landing force and amphibious operations, and eventually sailed back to Great Britain. She carried returning personnel from 3 Commando Brigade, vehicles and stores.
She was placed out of commission in 1985 and remained inactive for three years before undergoing a two-year refit atDevonport, recommissioning in 1991. During the refit, her 1940s-era40 mm Bofors guns and 1960s-eraSea Cat surface-to-air missile launchers were removed. In their place, twoBMARC GAM-B0120 mm cannons were installed on the bridge wings, along with twoPhalanx CIWS mounts staggered on the mid deck.[9][failed verification]
From 1991 until 1995 she supported the sea training phase of initial officer training, undertaken atBritannia Royal Naval College, as part of the Dartmouth Training Squadron.
She was due to undertake an operation in the Gulf, but that was handed toHMS Ocean in 2000. Her last major duty was to take part in amphibious exercises shortly before decommissioning.
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Fearless was decommissioned in 2002 and awaited disposal inFareham Creek,Hampshire, moored alongside hersister shipIntrepid. In October 2007, it was reported thatFearless was to be scrapped in Belgium,[4][10]five years after the vessel was officially mothballed in Portsmouth. On 17 December 2007,Fearless was towed toGhent in Belgium to be broken. This was the first warship successfully exported for recycling by any Western government that fully complied with international agreements and the principles concerning environmentally sound management of waste.[11]
Replacement LPDsAlbion andBulwark were ordered during the 1990s. They were commissioned in 2003 and 2005 respectively.
