HMS Fearless 1/600 Scale Model

A ship which represented the first of a new breed of vessel for the modern Royal Navy, HMS Devonshire (D02) was the first of the Navy's new County-class Destroyers, which were designed around the Seaslug surface to air missile system. A fleet defender designed to knock out high flying enemy aircraft before they could release their stand-off anti-shipping munitions, Devonshire was launched in June 1960 and commissioned in November 1962 and was the first vessel of her type to enter Royal Navy service and the first operational Royal Navy ship to fire the Seaslug missile. The missile was only used in action once and this was when HMS Antrim fired Seaslugs during the Falklands War, but it has to be said with somewhat disappointing results.

Decommissioned in 1978, she would spend the next six years languishing in Portsmouth harbour, as a proposed sale to the Egyptian Navy fell through. For such a notable ship, she would meet a rather ignominious end as a target ship, sunk by HMS Splendid in the North Atlantic on 17th July 1984, only days after serving as a floating target during Sea-Eagle anti-ship missile trials.One of the most famous British ships of the post-war period, HMS Fearless was a modern Amphibious Assault Ship known in naval terms as an LPD (Landing Platform Dock), a modern development of the vessels that proved so crucial during the D-Day landings towards the end of the Second World War. The first purpose-built ship of her type to be used by the Royal Navy, Fearless also had the distinction of being the last steam-powered surface ship supplied to the force. 

Fearless and her sister ship HMS Intrepid provided Britain and the Royal Navy with an incredibly flexible and highly mobile assault force, able to replenish at sea and therefore capable of steaming to military hotspots anywhere in the world. Her internal vehicle decks could carry 400 troops and their equipment, in addition to up to fifteen Challenger tanks, but this could be increased to 700 troops if no tanks were carried. 

The stern of the ship could be submerged to allow the operation of four LCU landing craft, delivering troops and vehicles to the landing beaches quickly and effectively, immediately returning to reinforce the beachhead with more troops. A large flight deck increased the effectiveness of the ship still further, with helicopters usually up to the size of a Sea King further enhancing the flexibility of the ship's delivery capabilities.

During the Falklands War, HMS Fearless played a significant role as part of the British Naval Task Force, acting as a command ship for the operation, with her Bofors guns claiming at least two Argentine Air Force attack aircraft destroyed during the conflict. Following the surrender of Argentine forces on the Islands, Fearless played host to a number of high ranking Argentine Army officers, underlining the importance of her role.

During a notable service career which spanned more than 35 years, when Fearless was not representing the Royal Navy on a global stage, she could be found rescuing James Bond and Anya Amasova in their escape pod from the ocean around Malta, at the end of the movie 'The spy who loved me'. 

Decommissioned in 2002, HMS Fearless even made headlines during her disposal, as she became the first Western warship to be disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.