HMS Fearless (L10)
_off_North_Carolina_1996.JPEG)
HMS Fearless off North Carolina, 9 May 1996
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| 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: | Pennant L10 |
| Motto: |
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| Fate: | Scrapped Ghent harbour (BE) 2008 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Fearless-class 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 Royal Navy ship that served from 1965 until 2002. One of two Fearless-class landing platform docks, she was based in HMNB Portsmouth and saw service around the world over her 37-year life. She was the last steam powered surface ship in the Royal Navy.
The landing platform docks (LPD) supported a Royal 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 LCUs, four LCVPs and the Beach Party, which was equipped with a Land Rover, a Bedford 4-ton truck, two tractor units - one a track layer, the other equipped with a bucket - and a Centurion 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 LPD used by the Royal Navy. Built in Belfast at the Harland and Wolff yard, she was launched in 1963 before undergoing trials and commissioning in 1965.
Following commissioning, her first operational tasking was acting as a command platform for British Counter-Terrorism operations in Aden, operating Royal Air Force aircraft and the Irish Guards prior to the British withdrawal as Flag of a 25 platform task group. Following the Aden experiences, in 1968, she was the venue for talks between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith over the future of Rhodesia. The latter had unilaterally declared independence(UDI) from Britain due to Britain's insistence on the removal of white minority rule.
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