Running the amphibious command from HMS Fearless

HMS Fearless had been conceived for a more limited ferry-like role in support of NATO's northern flank, not as headquarters for a contested assault landing. She lacked both accommodation and office space for the wartime staff that crowded aboard. Personnel slept in improvised spaces, and the central planning team worked around a desk in an area likened here to less space than a few garage parking bays. Clapp nevertheless kept this compressed headquarters functioning through the campaign. Stories of him waking the staff with songs such as the Floral Dance illustrate deliberate morale work. Command climate and staff cohesion partly compensated for a ship never designed to carry headquarters on this scale.