HMS Intrepid (D10)

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HMS Intrepid was one of nine s built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.

Description

The I-class ships were improved versions of the preceding H-class. They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of and were intended to give a maximum speed of . Intrepid only reached a speed of from Template:Cvt during her sea trials. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at . Their crew numbered 145 officers and ratings.

The ships mounted four 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from bow to stern. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had two quadruple mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. The I class was fitted with two above-water quintuple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes. One depth charge rack and two throwers were fitted; 16 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began. Intrepid was one of the four I-class destroyers fitted with minelaying equipment in late 1938 – January 1939 at Malta. This consisted of mounts for rails on the deck on which to carry the mines and an electric winch to move the mines down the rails. A pair of sponsons were added to the stern to allow the mines to clear the propellers when dropped into the sea. 'A' and 'Y' guns and both sets of torpedo tubes were modified to allow them to be removed to compensate for the weight of the mines. The ships could carry a maximum of 72 mines. The I-class ships were fitted with the ASDIC sound detection system to locate submarines underwater.

Construction and career

File:Memorial to the sinking of HMS Intrepid during the Battle of Leros.jpg

Memorial to IntrepidTemplate:'s crew, in Port Lakki

In the Second World War, Intrepid attacked and sank the Template:GS south-west of Ireland on 14 October 1939 in company with the destroyers and . During naval manoeuvres on the 17 March 1940 Intrepid collided with the Leith-based fishing trawler MV Ocean Drift, sinking the smaller ship and killing two of her crew but rescuing the other eight Intrepid participated in the pursuit and destruction of the in May 1941, and in Operation Pedestal, the escorting of a convoy to Malta in August 1942. Intrepid was adopted by the town of Uxbridge in 1942 to raise funds for the ship's costs. Intrepid was attacked by German Junkers Ju 88 aircraft and sank in Leros harbour in the Aegean Sea on 26 September 1943.