One of the Falklands war’s doughtiest fighters, HMS Intrepid, is to be dismantled, 25 years after she was first saved from the scrapheap and four months from the 25th anniversary of the islands’ liberation.

HMS Intrepid, which was launched in 1964, should have been taken out of service in 1982, but was reprieved in the nick of time to join the Royal Navy Task Force ordered to liberate the islands from Argentine invaders. The assault ship played a significant role in the conflict and served another 17 years in Her Majesty’s Fleet before being decommissioned in 1999.

The Ministry of Defence announced yesterday that HMS Intrepid would be “recycled”, the modern, environmentally friendly term for scrapping a ship. Leavesley International, a British company, has been chosen to cut up the ship, and those components that can be recycled, such as the anchor chain and the steel hull, will be reused. Some items will be sold as souvenirs.

Commenting on the final demise of HMS Intrepid, Commodore David Steel, Portsmouth naval base commander, where the ship is moored, said: “All Royal Navy ships eventually reach the end of their working life. HMS Intrepid played a key role in the Falkland Islands. She can now head gracefully into recycled retirement knowing that her replacement, HMS Albion, will continue her good work around the world.”

HMS Intrepid and her sister ship, HMS Fearless, proved their worth as amphibious assault ships both in combat and in peacekeeping operations. Intrepid was in the second wave of ships sent to the Falkland Islands as part of Operation Corporate. She did not arrive in the South Atlantic until May 18, 6½ weeks after the Argentine invasion.

She was, however, part of the first assault that entered North Falkland Sound. HMS Fearless was there too, as was the Canberra. The landing itself at San Carlos was carried out by landing craft and helicopters. HMS Intrepid, like HMS Fearless, had four landing craft, each capable of getting 150 soldiers ashore.

HMS Intrepid suffered one of the war’s worst setbacks. For the landing assault on May 19, a large number of troops were switched from one ship to another. Soldiers from 3 Para were successfully transferred to HMS Intrepid, but an 846 Squadron Sea King helicopter that was ferrying SAS troops from HMS Hermes flew into a flock of birds and ditched into the sea. Twenty-three people died and only eight survived, including the two pilots.

After the liberation of the Falkland Islands on June 14, HMS Intrepid, like all the ships that survived the conflict, came home to a hero’s welcome. She was placed in reserve in 1991.

The decision to use a British port for the recycling comes after environmentalist groups expressed anger over the use of developing countries, such as India, to dismantle warships.

Eight ships named Intrepid . . .

The first was a “ship of the line” vessel originally named Sérieux. She was captured from the French in 1747 and renamed Intrepid

The second was a warship commissioned in 1770. She was armed with 64 guns

The third, an Indian sloop from Bombay, was built in 1780 and foundered in 1810

The fourth was a discovery ship, commissioned in 1850 and originally named Perseverance

The fifth entered service in 1855 and helped to prevent a massacre of Christians in Beirut in 1861

The sixth was an Apollo Class cruiser, pictured right. She was launched in 1891 and scuttled during the First World War

The seventh, a destroyer, was launched in 1936. She served in the Second World War and was sunk in 1943

The eighth, launched in 1964, took part in the Falklands war

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