HMS Fearless (1912)

Fearless underway with a paddle steamer to the right
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Fearless
Builder	Pembroke Dockyard
Laid down	15 November 1911
Launched	12 June 1912
Commissioned	October 1913
Fate	Sold for scrap, 8 November 1921
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Active-class scout cruiser
Displacement	3,340 long tons (3,390 t) (normal)
Length	405 ft (123.4 m) (o/a)
Beam	41 ft (12.5 m)
Draught	14 ft 6 in (4.4 m)
Installed power	18,000 shp (13,000 kW) 12 × Yarrow boilers
Propulsion	4 × shafts 2 × Parsons steam turbine sets
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	4,630 nautical miles (8,570 km; 5,330 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	293
Armament	10 × single BL 4-inch (102 mm) guns 4 × single QF 3-pounder 1.9 in (47 mm) guns 2 × single 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Deck: 0.5–1 in (13–25 mm) Conning tower: 4 in (102 mm)

HMS Fearless was one of three Active-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the First World War. Upon completion in 1913, the ship was assigned to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron (LCS) of the 1st Fleet. She became flotilla leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla (DF) shortly before the start of the war in August 1914 and was transferred to the Harwich Force shortly after it began. Fearless participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the Cuxhaven Raid later that year. The ship was transferred to the Grand Fleet in early 1915 and played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland the following year.

Fearless was converted into a submarine depot ship shortly afterwards and briefly deployed to Russia later in the year. She later became the flotilla leader of the 12th Submarine Flotilla (SF), initially based in Scapa Flow, but later in Rosyth. In early 1918, she accidentally rammed and sank one submarine from a different flotilla as part of an incident that sardonically came to be known as the Battle of May Island. The ship survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1921.