HMS Fearless (L10)

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Career

Ordered:
Laid down:	25 July 1962
Launched:	December 19, 1963
Commissioned:	November 25, 1965
Decommissioned:	March 18, 2002
Fate:	Awaiting Disposal
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	12,120 tons full load
Length:	158.5 m
Beam:	24.4 m
Draught:	6.3 m
Propulsion:	English Electric 2 shaft geared steam turbines 11,000 shp (8.2 MW)
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h)
Range:
Complement:	580
Armament:	2 × 20 mm GAM B01 BMARC single mounts ; 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft:	Landing platform for up to 5 Sea King helicopters
Motto:	EXPLICIT NOMEN - The name says it all
Badge:

HMS Fearless (L10) was the first purpose built Landing Platform Dock (LPD) of the Royal Navy and one of two in the class that were built. Her role was to provide a Naval Assault Group/Brigade HQ for the control of assault forces and to provide the accommodation and dock in which to store and then from which to launch these forces. Following her commissioning, she was sent to Aden, and was responsible for coordinating the British withdrawal. In 1968, she was the venue for talks between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith about Rhodesia.

The Fearless featured in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me as the ship which picks up Bond's escape pod.

During the 1982 Falklands War, Fearless was part of the Task Force sent to retake the islands. Fearless was the Command ship for the Amphibious Task Force. She came under heavy air attack during the campaign, and participated in the landings at San Carlos Water on 8 June during which one of her landing craft was destroyed and four Royal Marines and two sailors were killed.

In 1985, Fearless decommissioned for three years, following which she underwent a two year refit, rejoining the fleet in 1991. It was at this refit that her 1940's vintage 40mm Bofors cannons and two Sea Cat anti-air missile launchers were replaced by 20mm BMARC and Phalanx guns. Her increasing age led to continuing maintenance problems, and resulted in the Government ordering replacement vessels for both Fearless and her sister ship Intrepid. Fearless was finally paid off in 2002.

HMS Fearless was for a number of years the adopted ship of the UK seaside resort Scarborough, until its decommission in 2002.

The successful deployments of Fearless and her sister ship with the flexibility their configuration provided meant that they have now been replaced by two new LPD ships of the Albion Class. These LPD have been developed and commissioned despite the development of the Ocean Class Helicopter Carrier which itself has considerable Assault landing capability demonstrating the importance of the options that a dock provides.