1RTR/HMS Fearless Exercise 1983

1st Royal Tank Regiment - The First, The Best
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On the 5th Sept 1983, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, in conjunction with HMS Fearless, held an "offloading" exercise off the coast of Dorset. I was lucky enough to wangle my way onto this and the colour images below are those that I took on this day. The black and white images were taken by the "Regimental Photographer" - sorry but I can't remember who it was - it may have been Trooper "Slugger" McGlynn, or was it McEvoy? My memory nowadays! Click on the image to see full size.

HMS Fearless, photo taken from the beach at Arish Mell Gap, Dorset	Members of 1 RTR waiting to board Landing Craft at Arish Mell
Looking down from the cliffs above Arish Mell	Looking down from the cliffs, towards Fearless and her Landing Craft
I am actually driving the Land Rover, far left, reversing towards the Landing Craft	Chieftain (57t) boarding a Landing Craft
Chieftain Tank now on landing craft, heading out to HMS Fearless	On board a landing craft, heading out to HMS Fearless
Another image heading out to HMS Fearless, Portland Bill in the background	A landing craft gets into position to enter flooded dock on HMS Fearless
And then does so, carrying a Chieftain Tank and its crew	Entering the rear dock of HMS Fearless
The MTO, Capt Wallis and crew, entering Fearless' docking gates	Another view of HMS Fearless' docking facilities
Boarding a Landing Craft, a Chieftain Tank, another follows	Landing Craft heading to and from HMS Fearless
HMS Fearless, with the Dorset coastline behind	The bridge superstructure of HMS Fearless
On the flight deck	Looking back along the flight deck

From “Dolly” Purton - June 07: I was driving one of the chieftains and being the most reliable 56 tons of rolling dermititous that it was broke down half way between the fearless and the landing craft on the deck. I remember the crew flapping, trying to winch us on, me sat in the driver’s seat watching salty water lapping over the tracks in a ever widening gap and the winch failing, but an eager beaver saved the day by giving us a slave. Whilst driving on the beach the tracks churned up telecom cables, the next day some locals were caught robbing the copper.

Oct 07: A former Royal Navy ship is destined for a scrapyard in Belgium where some of it may be recycled. The 44-year-old HMS Fearless is to be scrapped five years after it was officially mothballed in Portsmouth, the Ministry of Defence has announced. The 12,000-tonne ship served in both the Falklands conflict in 1982 and the first Gulf war in 1990. It also enjoyed a cameo appearance in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, when it picked up 007. Military officials say "as much as possible" of the ship will be recycled. But one former marine called for the ship to be saved for historic reasons.

Former Royal Marine Colin Waite, 49, who served on HMS Fearless during the Falklands War, said the ship was key to victory as, along with HMS Intrepid, it landed troops onto shore. Mr Waite, from Barnard Castle, County Durham said: "It is sad because she is a ship with more history than most. Mr Waite, from Barnard Castle, County Durham said: "It is sad because she is a ship with more history than most. "You had the special forces based on Fearless, as well as all the command and control, she was the pivotal point in that war." Defence Minister Lord Drayson said Van Heyghen Recycling was the preferred bidder for the salvage work because of its track record for recycling materials where possible. Fearless was launched in 1963, shortly before a sister ship, HMS Intrepid. During the Falklands conflict, one of the smaller landing craft attached to Fearless, Foxtrot 4, was bombed by an Argentine jet, killing six Royal Marines. In the 1977 Bond movie, Fearless is the ship that picks up the famous spy's escape pod. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7024769.stm

A Wessex takes off from Fearless, another prepares to leave	HMS Fearless flight deck
Inside the "dock" of HMS Fearless, looking aft	Leaving HMS Fearless, heading back to shore