HMS Fearless was an Active-class

Active class cruiser

The Active class was a class of three scout cruisers of the Royal Navy, built prior to the First World War, and later seeing service in that conflict...

 scout cruiser

Scout cruiser

A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th Century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 12 June 1912.

On commissioning she was assigned to the Harwich Force

Harwich Force

The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...

 with her sisters, and was the leader

Flotilla leader

A flotilla leader was a warship suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer...

 of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla. She led the flotilla in the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914 and at the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

 on 31 May - 1 June 1916. Later in 1916 she was made the leader of the 12th submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 flotilla of the Grand Fleet, made up of the notoriously accident prone K-class steam submarines

British K class submarine

The K class submarines were a class of steam-propelled submarines of the Royal Navy designed in 1913. Intended as large, fast vessels which had the endurance and speed to operate with the battle fleet, they gained notoriety, and the nickname of Kalamity class, for being involved in many accidents....

. On 31 January 1918 an incident that sardonically came to be known as the Battle of May Island

Battle of May Island

The Battle of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation E.C.1 in 1918.Named after the Isle of May, an island in the Firth of Forth, close by, it was a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy ships on their way from Rosyth in Scotland to fleet...

 occurred. A number of Royal Navy warships, including Fearless and her flotilla, were en route to Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

 to take part in exercises, when due to a combination of mechanical failures and confusion over ship positions in the misty evening, a number of ships collided. Fearless accidentally rammed and sank the submarine HMS K17

HMS K17

HMS K17 was a British K class submarine built by Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness.- Loss :K17 was sunk on 31 January 1918 during the night time fleet exercises later known as the Battle of May Island when she was attached to the 13th Submarine Flotilla. ploughed into K17 at the head of a line of...

. She ground to halt, causing the other submarines in the flotilla to turn to avoid her, at which point a number of them were themselves struck by other following ships. In just over an hour, two submarines had been sunk, four others were damaged and Fearless had also sustained considerable damage. Over 100 sailors were killed in the incident.

Fearless was repaired and survived the war, but was considered obsolete and was sold for scrapping on 8 November 1921, eventually being broken up in Germany.