HMS Fearless (H67) was an E class

E and F class destroyer

The E and F class was a class of 18 destroyers of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. Three ships were later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy, one to the Royal Hellenic Navy and one to the Dominican Navy. Launched in 1934, they served in the Second World War. Nine were lost...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 built for 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...

, that was commissioned in 1934, and saw service early in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 before being sunk in July 1941.

Construction

The ship was ordered from Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...

 at Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 under the 1932 Programme. She was laid down on 17 July 1933, and launched on 12 May 1934, as the seventh RN ship to carry this name, and completed on 22 December 1934.

Force H, 1940–1941

On 3 July 1940 she took part in the attack on the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir ("Operation Catapult"), and was part of the screen for the carrier and other ships during air attacks on the two days later. On the 8th she escorted Force H ships during a planned attack on Cagliari

Cagliari

Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...

, which had to be abandoned after Italian air attacks ("Operation MA5"). The attack was eventually carried out on 2 August (Operation Crush), but on the 4th, while returning to the UK Fearless was involved in a collision with the trawler

Naval trawler

A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...

 Flying Wing and was repaired at the Barclay Curle

Barclay Curle

-History:The company was founded by Robert Barclay at Stobcross in Glasgow, Scotland during 1818. In 1862, the company built a large engineering works at Stobcross in Glasgow. In 1876, the company moved their yard down the river to Whiteinch. It was incorporated in 1884 as Barclay Curle...

 shipyard on the Clyde. On 11 October she prepared for operational duty with the Flotilla, but on the 30th was involved in another collision with SS Lanark at Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

. More repairs followed at Troon

Troon

Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services...

, and Fearless did not return to duty at Gibraltar until January 1941.

On 31 January 1941 she took part in "Operation Picket", an air attack on the Tirso Dam on Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, and also in Operation Grog

Operation Grog

Operation Grog was the name assigned to the British naval and air bombardment of Genoa and La Spezia between 6 and 11 February 1941, during the Second World War...

, an naval bombardment of Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 on 6 February. In March Fearless was deployed with three other destroyers of the Flotilla and the cruiser to intercept a Vichy convoy. A later attempt to capture the French merchant ship Bangkok off the port of Ghazaouet

Ghazaouet

Ghazaouet is a town and commune in Tlemcen Province in northwestern Algeria.-References:...

, Algeria, was prevented by shore battery fire. In early April Fearless and four other destroyers escorted the Sheffield, battlecruiser , and the carrier Ark Royal in Operation Winch, which delivered 12 Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

 fighter aircraft to Malta. Later in the month she was part of the screen for the same ships escorting Force S, a group of reinforcement ships for the Fleet in Alexandria (Operation Salient).

In early May she was part of destroyer screen with five other destroyers for the battleship , and the cruisers , and which were joining the Fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean. This was part of Operation Tiger

Malta Convoys

The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...

 which included a supply convoy taking tanks to the Middle East and the transfer of warships. After arrival in Malta on the 12th Fearless carried out a minesweeping operation to enable the ships of 5th Destroyer Flotilla to safely leave harbour for an offensive operation against Italian convoys. On the 19th she and three other destroyers escorted the heavy cruiser

Heavy cruiser

The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...

  to cover the delivery of further aircraft to Malta by the carriers Ark Royal and .

In June she was deployed in the Atlantic on anti-submarine operations with the Flotilla. On the 16th Fearless and four other destroyers sank the off Gibraltar. On the 22nd she was deployed with four other destroyers to intercept a German supply ship spotted heading towards towards the French coast. The next day the Flotilla intercepted the SS Alstertor which was scuttled by her crew on the approach of the British ships. They rescued 78 British POWs taken from ships sunk by German raiders and the crew.

In July Fearless resumed duty with "Force H" in the Mediterranean. On the 20th she joined Force X in "Operation Substance

Operation Substance

Operation Substance was a British naval operation in July 1941 during the Second World War to escort a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta.The convoy was escorted by six destroyers and covered by aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the battleship HMS Nelson along with...

", another Malta convoy. On the 23rd whilst screening Ark Royal she was torpedoed and heavily damaged by Italian aircraft. Her crew was rescued by , which then sank the wrecked and burning ship with torpedoes about 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) north-north-east of Bône

Annaba

Annaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....

, Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

, in position 37°40′N 08°20′E.