The LPDs provided support to a Royal Marines amphibious assault force and provided a platform for the Headquarters capability prior to, and during, the assault phase.
Service
Intrepid was the second of her class of purpose built LPDs used by Royal Navy. She was built in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, at the John Brown & Company yard and was launched in 1964 before undergoing trials and commissioning in 1967. She was the last ship built by John Brown & Co for the Royal Navy. Intrepid became the first Royal Navy warship equipped with satellite communication equipment in 1969. As a result of defence cuts, Intrepid went into reserve in 1976, being brought back into active service in 1979 to allow Fearless to be refitted. It was announced in 1981 that the two LPDs were to be deleted, with Intrepid undergoing decommissioning in 1982 at the outbreak of the Falklands War. However, Intrepid was brought back into commission, with her ship's company recalled by Commander Bryn Telfer, and Malcolm MacLeod, the crew gladly returned to form part of the task group committed to Operation Corporate, the British effort to recapture the islands. Intrepid was commanded by Captain Peter Dingemans. With elements of 3 Commando Brigade embarked, Intrepid took part in the amphibious landings at San Carlos Water. HMS Intrepid was under attack in San Carlos Water on 25 May 1982, with a few fatalities, mainly Royal Marines. Nordic Ferry was also under attack. She came under heavy air attack once again during the operation, and was the main participant in the landings at Bluff Cove on 6 June. Margaret Thatcher and Sandy Woodward commended the efforts of the ships involved in the San Carlos attacks.
The Intrepid would be the last ship to arrive, the last piece in the jigsaw, and so all the timings depended on her.
As well as being one of the warships used for imprisoning the Argentine prisoners of war, the surrender ending the Falklands conflict was signed on Intrepids deck. Intrepid was refitted at Devonport Royal Dockyard between January 1984 and June 1985, with two Sea Cat launchers removed, with twin 30 mm anti-aircraft mounts and two single 20 mm cannon added. From June 1985 until 1990 she supported the sea training phase of initial officer training, undertaken at Britannia Royal Naval College, as part of the Dartmouth Training Squadron. During the same period Intrepid also provided Marine Engineering Artificer Apprentices from HMS Sultan their sea training opportunity. During a three to four month period, each entry of Artificers would spend a week working in each department aboard in order to learn more about the other trades in the Royal Navy. During the early years of their service, Intrepid and her sister shipFearless carried a number of soldiers of the regular British Army as part of their fixed crew. This happened because in the late 1960s and very early 1970s, the strength of the Royal Marines had been cut severely by the then Labour government and the Marines were unable to fulfill a number of the amphibious liaison posts on board the ships. In the case of Intrepid, the army crew included a signal troop, a detachment of Royal Engineers, a small team of drivers from the Royal Corps of Transport and REME recovery mechanics who operated the BARV - Beach Amphibious Recovery Vehicle. This was a tracked recovery vehicle, based on a Second World War Centurion Tank chassis, with built-up sides. Its function was to recover drowned vehicles during a beach assault. The Army element of the crew of Intrepid was in place from its commissioning in 1967, to December 1973, by which time the strength of the Royal Marines had been substantially improved and they were then able to fulfill all the above posts themselves.
Decommissioned
Intrepid was placed in reserve status late in 1990, when Fearless completed an extensive refit. Intrepid was in poor physical condition by this time, which prevented a similar upgrade, and was laid up at HM Naval Base Portsmouth. Intrepid was used as a source of spares for Fearless. She was decommissioned in 1999 and awaited her disposal, by scrapping, in Fareham Creek, Hampshire. On 12 February 2007, the MoD announced that HMS Intrepid was to be recycled at a British facility. Leavesley International was selected as the preferred bidder, pending licence acquisition. The contract aimed to ensure that the ship was disposed of responsibly, and in full compliance with international environmental legislation. Having received the required planning permission and environmental licences for disposal, Intrepid left Portsmouth for her final journey to Liverpool on 13 September 2008. Having been previously suggested as potential diving site on the south coast, various veterans of the Falklands War started a petition on the 10 Downing Street website to preserve the ship as a memorial to the conflict. Replacement LPDs were ordered during the 1990s with being commissioned in 2003.
