View source for HMS Fearless (H67)

{{short description|F-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s}}
{{Other ships|HMS Fearless}}
{{good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Fearless (H67) IWM FL 013091.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Fearless'' in 1935
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Fearless''
|Ship ordered=17 March 1933
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Cammell Laird]], [[Birkenhead]]
|Ship original cost=£245,728
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= 17 July 1933
|Ship launched= 12 May 1934
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed= 19 December 1934
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: H67
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= Torpedoed by Italian aircraft and scuttled, 23 July 1941
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class= [[E and F-class destroyer|F-class destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1405|LT|t}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|1940|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|329|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|12|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (deep)
|Ship power=*{{convert|36000|shp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on|-2}}
*3 × [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=2 × shafts; 2 × [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|35.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|6350|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=145
|Ship sensors=[[Sonar#History|ASDIC]]
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|QF 4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mk IX guns]]
*2 × quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun|{{convert|0.5|in|mm|adj=on|1}} machine guns]]
*2 × quadruple [[British 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533&nbsp;mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
*20 × [[depth charge]]s, 1 rack and 2 throwers
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label= 
|partof=*[[Home Fleet]], 1939–1940
*[[Force H]], 1940–1941
|codes=
|commanders=
|operations=*[[Norwegian Campaign]]
*[[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir]]
*[[Malta Convoys]]
|victories=*{{Ship|German submarine|U-27|1936|2}}
*{{Ship|German submarine|U-49|1939|2}}
*{{Ship|German submarine|U-138|1940|2}}
|awards=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Fearless''''' was an [[E and F-class destroyer|F-class destroyer]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] during the 1930s. Although assigned to the [[Home Fleet]] upon completion, the ship was attached to the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] in 1935–36 during the [[Abyssinia Crisis]]. During the [[Spanish Civil War]] of 1936–1939, she spent time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Several months after the start of the war in September 1939, ''Fearless'' helped to sink one submarine and sank another one in 1940 during the [[Norwegian Campaign]]. She was sent to [[Gibraltar]] in mid-1940 and formed part of [[Force H]] where she participated in the [[attack on Mers-el-Kébir|attack on the Vichy French ships at Mers-el-Kébir]] and the [[Operation Grog|bombardment of Genoa]]. ''Fearless'' helped to sink one final submarine in 1941 and escorted many [[Malta convoys]] in the [[Mediterranean]] before she was [[torpedo]]ed by an Italian bomber and had to be [[scuttled]] on 23 July 1941.

==Description==
The F-class ships were repeats of the preceding [[E and F-class destroyer|E-class]]. They displaced {{convert|1405|LT|t}} at [[Displacement (ship)|standard]] load and {{convert|1940|LT|t}} at [[deep load]]. The ships had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|329|ft|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|33|ft|3|in|m|1}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|12|ft|6|in|m|1}}. They were powered by two [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]], using steam provided by three [[Admiralty three-drum boiler]]s. The turbines developed a total of {{convert|36000|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|35.5|kn|lk=in}}. ''Fearless'' carried a maximum of {{convert|470|LT|t}} of [[fuel oil]] that gave her a range of {{convert|6350|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}. The ships' complement was 145 officers and [[Naval rating|ratings]].<ref name=l6>Lenton, p. 156</ref>

The ships mounted four [[4.7 inch QF Mark XII|4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mark IX guns]] in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' in sequence from front to rear. For [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) defence, they had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the [[Vickers .50 machine gun|0.5&nbsp;inch Vickers Mark III]] [[machine gun]]. The F class was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|adj=on|0}}]] torpedoes.<ref>Whitley, p. 103</ref> One [[depth charge]] rack and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 38 shortly after the war began. All of her sister ships had their rear torpedo tubes replaced by a [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12-pounder]] AA gun by April 1941, but she still had both sets of torpedo tube by that date and was probably not rearmed before her loss a few months later.<ref>Friedman, pp. 236, 241</ref>

==Construction and career==
''Fearless'' was ordered on 17 March 1933 from [[Cammell Laird]] and was [[laid down]] at their [[Birkenhead]] shipyard on 17 July, [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 12 May 1934, and completed on 19 December 1934. The ship cost 245,728 [[Pound sterling|pounds]], excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament. ''Fearless'' was initially assigned to the [[6th Destroyer Flotilla]] (DF) of the Home Fleet, but she was detached to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet during the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War]] from March to July 1936. The ship enforced the arms embargo imposed on both sides in the Spanish Civil War by the [[Non-Intervention Committee]] from November 1936 to March 1937. During this time, ''Fearless'' escorted the elderly liner {{SS|Habana}}, full of [[Evacuation of children in the Spanish Civil War|refugee children]], from the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] to [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]], France. She returned to [[Gibraltar]] for three-month detachments in August 1937, January 1938 and January 1939. The 6th DF was renumbered the [[8th Destroyer Flotilla]] in April 1939, five months before the outbreak of World War II. ''Fearless'' remained assigned to it until May 1940, escorting the larger ships of the fleet.<ref>English, pp. 75–76, 78</ref>

After a pair of [[fishing trawler]]s were sunk by a submarine off the [[Hebrides]] after the start of World War II in September 1939, the 6th and 8th DFs were ordered to sweep the area on 19 September. The following day, ''Fearless'' and three of her [[sister ship]]s sank the {{GS|U-27|1936|6}} and then resumed their normal escort duties. At the end of March 1940, ''Fearless'' and the destroyer {{HMS|Hostile|H55|2}} were assigned to screen the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Birmingham|C19|2}} as she searched for German fishing ships off the Norwegian coast.<ref>English, p. 78; Rohwer, pp. 4, 17</ref> ''Birmingham'' and her consorts were ordered to join the covering force for [[Operation Wilfred]], an operation to lay [[Naval mine|mines]] in the [[Vestfjorden (Norway)|Vestfjord]] to prevent the transport of [[Swedish iron-ore mining during World War II|Swedish iron ore]] from [[Narvik]] to Germany, on the evening of 7 April, but they were delayed by the need to transfer [[prize crew]]s to several captured trawlers and [[head sea]]s.<ref>Haarr 2009, pp. 65–66, 87, 92, 105</ref>

A week later, she was escorting the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Valiant|1914|2}} which was covering Convoy NP1, the first troop convoy to Norway, as the [[Allies of World War 2|Allies]] began to execute [[Plan R 4]] after the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion]] on 9 April. The convoy entered the [[Andfjorden]] on the morning of 15 April en route to make their landings at [[Harstad Municipality|Harstad]], but paused there after reports of a German submarine on the surface inside the [[Vågsfjorden, Troms|Vågsfjorden]] were received. ''Fearless'', the destroyer {{HMS|Brazen|H80|2}}, and the [[naval trawler|trawler]] {{HMT|Amethyst||2}} were ordered into the Vågsfjorden to investigate. ''Fearless''{{'}}s ASDIC found a submarine and the ship dropped five depth charges near {{GS|U-49|1939|2}}. The submarine commander, [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] (''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'') Curt von Gossler, panicked and ordered his crew to surface and scuttle the boat. Machinegun fire from ''Fearless'' discouraged von Gossler from properly disposing of his secret documents and a boat from ''Brazen'' was able to retrieve many of them, including a map showing the location of all U-boats in Norwegian waters. ''Valiant'', ''Fearless'', ''Brazen'' and the destroyer {{HMS|Griffin|H31|2}} were ordered to return to [[Scapa Flow]] that evening.<ref>Haarr 2010, pp. 198, 203–05</ref>

Beginning on 23 April, the ship was one of the escorts for the [[aircraft carrier]]s {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}} and {{HMS|Glorious||2}} as they conducted air operations off the coast of Norway in support of Allied operations ashore. ''Fearless'' was detached to refuel at [[Sullom Voe]] on the 28th and rejoined the screen two days later.<ref>Haarr 2010, pp. 143, 150</ref> The ship was under repair from 15 May to 10 June at [[Middlesbrough]]. A week later, she was escorting the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Hood|51|2}} and ''Ark Royal'', together with her sisters {{HMS|Faulknor|H62|2}} and {{HMS|Foxhound|H69|2}} and the destroyer {{HMS|Escapade|H17|2}}, from Scapa Flow to Gibraltar where they would form Force H.<ref>Rohwer, p. 29</ref>

===Force H, 1940–41===
On 3 July she took part in the attack on the [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir|French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir]] (Operation Catapult). A month later the ship escorted Force H during [[Operation Hurry]], a mission to fly off [[fighter aircraft]] for [[Malta]] and conduct an airstrike on [[Cagliari]] on 2 August.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 31, 34</ref> Two days later, while returning to the UK, ''Fearless'' collided with the trawler ''Flying Wing'' and was repaired at the [[Barclay Curle]] shipyard in [[Scotstoun]] between 10 August and 11 October. On 30 October she was involved in another collision with {{SS|Lanark}} at [[Greenock]] that fractured her stern. More repairs followed at [[Troon]], and ''Fearless'' did not rejoin Force H at Gibraltar until 18 January 1941.<ref name=e9>English, p. 79</ref>

On 31 January, Force H departed Gibraltar to carry out [[Operation Picket]], an unsuccessful night torpedo attack by eight of ''Ark Royal''{{'}}s [[Fairey Swordfish]] on the [[Tirso Dam]] in [[Sardinia]]. The British ships returned to Gibraltar on 4 February and began preparing for [[Operation Grog]], a naval bombardment of [[Genoa]], that was successfully carried out five days later.<ref>Admiralty Historical Section, pp. 48–53</ref> At the end of March, together with the light cruiser {{HMS|Sheffield|C24|6}} and three other destroyers, the ship attempted to intercept a Vichy French convoy that included the [[freighter (ship)|freighter]] {{SS|Bangkok|1919|6}}, supposedly laden with {{convert|3000|t|sp=us|0}} of rubber, which had already been unloaded. ''Fearless'' was ordered to board and capture ''Bangkok'', but she was thwarted by gunfire from a [[Coastal artillery|coast-defence battery]] off the port of [[Ghazaouet|Nemours]], Algeria. A few days later, ''Fearless'' and four other destroyers escorted ''Sheffield'', the battlecruiser {{HMS|Renown|1916|2}}, and ''Ark Royal'' in Operation Winch, which delivered 12 [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]] fighters to Malta.<ref>English, p. 79; Rohwer, pp. 66–67</ref>

In early May she was part of the destroyer screen with five other destroyers for the battleship {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|2}}, and the light cruisers {{HMS|Naiad|93|2}}, {{HMS|Fiji|58|2}} and {{HMS|Gloucester|62|2}} which were joining the Mediterranean Fleet. This was part of [[Malta Convoys|Operation Tiger]] which included a supply convoy taking tanks to the Middle East and the transfer of warships. ''Fearless'' and her sisters had their Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep (TSDS) [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeping gear]] rigged to allow them to serve as a fast minesweepers en route to Malta. Despite this, one merchant ship was sunk by mines and another damaged. The ship escorted another flying-off mission to Malta on 14 June; two days later, after German [[blockade runner]]s reached France, Force H [[sortie]]d into the Atlantic on a failed search for more blockade runners. Together with her sisters ''Faulknor'', {{HMS|Foresight|H68|2}}, {{HMS|Forester|H74|2}} and ''Foxhound'', ''Fearless'' helped to sink {{GS|U-138|1940|2}} on 18 June. Four days later, the 8th DF was tasked to intercept a German supply ship spotted heading towards the French coast. The next day they intercepted {{MV|Alstertor}} which was scuttled by her crew upon the approach of the British ships. They rescued 78 British POWs taken from ships sunk by German raiders as well as the crew.<ref>English, p. 79; Rohwer, p. 74, 77–78</ref>

[[File:Konwój okrętów na Morzu Śródziemnym (2-2616).jpg|thumb|Presumably the burning ''Fearless'', 23 July 1941]]
Another Malta convoy ([[Operation Substance]]) was conducted in mid-July, heavily escorted by Force H and elements of the Home Fleet. ''Fearless'' was torpedoed by an Italian [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.79]] bomber at 09:45 on 23 July. The detonation killed 27 and wounded 11 of her crew, set the aft oil tank on fire, and knocked out all power and the port propeller shaft. ''Forester'' closed to render assistance, but ''Fearless'' could not be saved under the circumstances. Her crew were taken off by her sister, which then sank the wrecked and burning ship with torpedoes at 10:57,<ref>English, p. 79; Evans, pp. 71–72; Kemp, p. 151</ref> about {{Convert|50|nmi|abbr=on}} north-north-east of [[Annaba|Bône]], [[Algeria]], in position {{Coord|37|40|N|08|20|E|dim:500000|display=inline,title}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4385.html |title=HMS ''Fearless'' (H 67) |first= Guðmundur |last=Helgason |work=uboat.net |access-date=18 September 2015}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Admiralty Historical Section|title=The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean|publisher=Whitehall History in association with Frank Cass|location=London|year=2002|series=Whitehall histories., Naval Staff histories |volume=2, November 1940–December 1941|isbn=0-7146-5205-9}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s|year=1993|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal, England|isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Arthur S.|title=Destroyer Down: An Account of HM Destroyer Losses 1939–1945|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK|year=2010|isbn=978-1-84884-270-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/destroyerdownacc0000evan}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2009|isbn=978-1-59114-081-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Haarr|first=Geirr H.|title=The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-057-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Haarr|first=Geirr H.|title=The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940|url=https://archive.org/details/germaninvasionof00geir|url-access=registration|year=2009|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-323-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Paul|title=The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century|year=1999|publisher=Sutton Publishing|location=Stroud, UK|isbn=0-7509-1567-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland}}

==External links==
* [http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-23F-Fearless.htm HMS ''Fearless'' on naval-history.net]
* [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80018712 IWM Interview with survivor Robert Craddock]

{{E and F class destroyer}}
{{July 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fearless (H67)}}
[[Category:E and F-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Mersey]]
[[Category:1934 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Destroyers sunk by aircraft]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1941]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Italian aircraft]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]