F8 - Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel

Originally designated as Land Craft Assault (Type 2) (LCA(2)), these vessels were redesignated Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) when they were attached to Landing Platform Dock (L Class) ships HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless.  Foxtrot 8 was one of four vessels of its type carried on board HMS Fearless, which was sent to the South Atlantic during the Falklands conflict in 1982.  With her sister craft, Foxtrot 8 played a major part in landing Royal Marine and army contingents on the Falkland Islands.

She was bought by the PNBPT in 1994 from Hughes Marine Services (HMS), a boat salvage yard.

The craft are powered by two diesel engines (similar to those found in a London bus).  The propellers are located in recesses at the stern allowing the craft to be beached without snagging in sand and gravel.

In November 2018, a contract was awarded to a private marine engineering company, who rebuilt and restored her. F8 is now afloat and in full working order.  Foxtrot 8’s restoration is a project funded by the Chancellor using LIBOR funds.