HMS ''Intrepid'' was one of nine s built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.

Description

The I-class ships were improved versions of the preceding H-class. They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ships had an overall length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . They were powered by two

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingto ...

geared

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three

Admiralty three-drum boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s. The turbines developed a total of and were intended to give a maximum speed of . ''Intrepid'' only reached a speed of from during her sea trials. The ships carried enough

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

to give them a range of at . Their crew numbered 145 officers and ratings.Lenton, p. 161 The ships mounted four 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from bow to

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. For

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

(AA) defence, they had two quadruple mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. The I class was fitted with two above-water quintuple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes. One

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

rack and two throwers were fitted; 16 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began. ''Intrepid'' was one of the four I-class destroyers fitted with minelaying equipment in late 1938 – January 1939 at Malta. This consisted of mounts for rails on the deck on which to carry the mines and an electric winch to move the mines down the rails. A pair of sponsons were added to the stern to allow the mines to clear the propellers when dropped into the sea. 'A' and 'Y' guns and both sets of torpedo tubes were modified to allow them to be removed to compensate for the weight of the mines. The ships could carry a maximum of 72 mines. The I-class ships were fitted with the ASDIC sound detection system to locate submarines underwater.

Construction and career

In the Second World War, ''Intrepid'' attacked and sank the south-west of Ireland on 14 October 1939 in company with the destroyers and . During naval manoeuvres on the 17 March 1940 ''Intrepid'' collided with the Leith-based fishing trawler MV Ocean Mist sinking the smaller ship and killing two of her crew but rescuing the other eight ''Intrepid'' participated in the pursuit and destruction of the in May 1941, and in

Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal ( it, Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ...

, the escorting of a convoy to Malta in August 1942. ''Intrepid'' was adopted by the town of Uxbridge in 1942 to raise funds for the ship's costs.

Sinking

''Intrepid'' was attacked by German Ju 88 aircraft and sank in Leros harbour in the Aegean Sea on 26 September 1943.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Intrepid (D10) I-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the Isle of Wight 1936 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Destroyers sunk by aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea Maritime incidents in September 1943 Ships sunk by German aircraft