HMS Fearless (L10)
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HMS Fearless off North Carolina, 9 May 1996
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Fearless |
Builder | Harland and Wolff, Belfast |
Laid down | 25 July 1962 |
Launched | 19 December 1963 |
Sponsored by | Lady Hull, wife of Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull |
Commissioned | 25 November 1965 |
Decommissioned | 18 March 2002 |
Identification |
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Motto |
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Fate | Scrapped Ghent harbour (BE) 2008 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | landing 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 geared steam turbines. 22,000 shp (16,000 kW) total |
Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
Complement | 580 |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | Landing platform for up to 5 Sea King helicopters. |
HMS Fearless (L10) was a
Role
The landing platform docks (LPD) supported a
Service
Fearless was the first purpose-built LPD used by the Royal Navy. Built in
Following commissioning, her first operational tasking was acting as a command platform for British Counter-Terrorism operations in
Between 1969 and 1970 she was commanded by Captain John Gerard-Pearse.[2] During this time, Fearless toured the Far East and was involved in emergency assistance work in Bangladesh after Typhoon Bhola, carrying 59 Royal Engineers Squadron, who would later become 59 Independent Commando Squadron.
In July 1972, Fearless ferried several Centurion
Fearless featured in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me as the ship that picks up Bond's escape pod. The filming took place the previous year near the island of Malta.[4]
Fearless was part of the
She was placed out of commission for three years in 1985 prior to a two-year refit at Devonport, recommissioning in 1991. During this refit, her 1940s-vintage
From 1991 until 1995 she supported the sea training phase of initial officer training, undertaken at Britannia Royal Naval College, as part of the Dartmouth Training Squadron.
She was due to undertake an operation in the Gulf, but that was handed to HMS Ocean in 2000. Her last major duty was to take part in amphibious exercises shortly before decommissioning.
Decommissioned
Fearless was decommissioned in 2002 and awaited disposal in Fareham Creek, Hampshire, moored alongside her sister ship Intrepid. In October 2007, it was reported that Fearless was to be scrapped in Belgium,[5][6] five years after the vessel was officially mothballed in Portsmouth. On 17 December 2007, Fearless was towed to Ghent 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.[7]
Replacement LPDs Albion and Bulwark were ordered during the 1990s. They were commissioned in 2003 and 2005 respectively.
References
- ^ "Fearless Class Amphibious Assault Ships". www.btinternet.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Mackie, Colin. "Senior Royal Navy Appointments from 1865" (PDF). Gulabin. Colin Mackie. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
- ISBN 1-84176-387-X[page needed]
- ^ "HMS Fearless heads for scrapyard". BBC News. 2 October 2007.
- ^ "HMS Fearless heads for scrapyard". BBC News. 2 October 2007.
- ^ "Falklands command ship to be recycled". Ministry of Defence. 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012.
- ^ "Recycling of HMS Fearless" (PDF). edisposals.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2011.