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Harrier ‘carriers’
I enjoyed the article on the HMS Fearless and Intrepid assault ships (First to the shore, BAW, August 2024) which identified that those ships were built from the outset to operate helicopters. These useful machines would not only support amphibious operations, but completed myriad duties. However, readers may be interested in the two ships’ dalliance with fast jets.
In February 1975, after operating with the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal off the US East Coast, Fearless repatriated a broken Buccaneer to Britain on her flight deck.
This sojourn as a literal ‘aircraft carrier’ was not the only time she dabbled with fixed-wing aviation, however. In 1976, Fearless was moored in London hosting defence representatives from 16 nations when Hawker test pilot John Farley landed a Harrier GR.1 on her flight deck, later taking off, to demonstrate the VTOL capabilities of the aptly nicknamed ‘Jump Jet’.
While Fearless and Intrepid never deployed with Harriers …
