Iron Duke has intercepted several large consignments of illegal drugs being sent from the Caribbean to Europe.
In her only combat mission, she was in action off Libya in 2011, destroying a gun battery outside the besieged town of Misrata. She also fired star shells through the night to illuminate pro-Gaddafi positions for NATO aircraft to destroy rocket launchers, fuel dumps, ammo stores, artillery batteries and command and control centres, whilst also confirming that no civilians were in the area.[12]
Iron Duke carries a number of weapons and sensors which make her a multi-purpose combat vessel. Like all T23s, her original design role was anti-submarine warfare, but she can be employed in a variety of roles. She carries a Wildcat Helicopter which can be used in an anti-submarine and anti-surface role as well as for humanitarian and search and rescue purposes.[14] The ship, like her sisters HMS Monmouth, HMS Montrose, HMS Lancaster and HMS Argyll, did not receive the new Sonar 2087 upgrade that other frigates of the class subsequently received. Therefore she has been regarded as a "general purpose" frigate without the more specialized anti-submarine capability of the other eight ships in the Type 23 fleet.[15] However, on the retirement of HMS Westminster in 2024, it was reported that the S2087 towed array from that ship would now be fit to Iron Duke instead.[16]
Iron Duke was the First of Class fit for the Royal Navy's new Type 997 Artisan 3D, successfully firing her missile system, using the new radar combined with the updated 'SWMLU' Seawolf missile targeting system, in the English Channel.
Operational history
1993–2000
Iron Duke intercepting a suspected smuggling vessel in the Caribbean.Leaving Portsmouth post refit, July 2014. The new radar is very obvious.Iron Duke in Cape Town, August 2014.Iron Duke fires her naval gun in the South Atlantic Ocean in 2014.
In 2000, under the command of Commander Ben Key for Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South), Iron Duke was part of the Royal Navy task force—comprising Illustrious, Ocean, Argyll, Chatham, and four RFA ships—that deployed to Sierra Leone during the civil war there. Iron Duke relieved Argyll of her duties in September.[17] During this incident Argyll, assisted by Ocean, laid the foundation for the Iron Duke Community School;a school for orphans in Freetown. President Kabbah of Sierra Leone decreed the school be named after the Iron Duke in honour of their crew completing the construction of the six classrooms.[18]
During this deployment Iron Duke also visited the Falkland Islands, Brazil, Ghana, Senegal and attended Exponaval 2000 when she made a good will visit to Valparaiso, Chile, to help improve relations with the UK's traditional ally. This was the RN's first visit since the General Pinochet affair.[19]
2001–2010
In May 2002 Iron Duke re-entered service after a refit, armed with a new 4.5inch Mod 1 gun. Under the command of Commander Phil Warwick, Iron Duke sailed into Portsmouth for her re-dedication. Amongst those in attendance were the present Duke of Wellington and Earl Jellicoe, both related to figures associated with the ship's name and career.[20] The following January Iron Duke deployed to the Caribbean for counter-drugs operations, hurricane season disaster relief standby, and visiting UK Overseas Territories for diplomatic purposes. This was the frigate's first operation since completing her refit at the end of 2001 and comprehensive training including multi-national exercises off Scotland.[21]
In September 2006 Iron Duke, under Commander Andy Jordan, was providing a presence for UK overseas territories in the Caribbean and providing the UK contribution to the war on drugs. She returned to the UK in December 2006. During her six-month deployment, Iron Duke steamed over 31,000 nautical miles (57,000km), and made 22 port visits to 18 different locations.[23]
In 2007 Iron Duke, now under the command of Commander Andy Gurr, was dry-docked for ten months at HMNB Portsmouth. Various systems were upgraded including the anti-submarine warfare equipment, and the ability to operate the Merlin helicopter was added. The first installation of a NATO Radial Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear filter system was made; this filter was undergoing trials prior to installation across the fleet, if successful.[24][25]
After 18 months of refit and upgrading, by March 2008 Iron Duke was halfway through her Operational Sea Training, in readiness for deployment to the North Atlantic at the end of May. All aspects of warfare were included in the training, including the infamous 'Thursday War' training exercise.[26]
On 18 April 2008 Iron Duke deployed to Avonmouth to train in sea and harbour safety. Avon and Somerset Police assisted in training in the co-operation between the Royal Navy and uniformed police in the event of harbour security being breached. Civic dignitaries also viewed the ship.[27] Later in April the Iron Duke's Operational Sea Training increased in difficulty with a simulation of tension between Brownian and Ginger forces with negotiations in neutral Freeport (Devonport) and a high risk of terrorist attacks. This exercise tested the defensive capabilities of the ship and the flexibility of proportional response to threats. Later in the series of exercises a hurricane hit the simulated island of Bullpoint, allowing Iron Duke to test her disaster relief capabilities including first aid, providing food and shelter to the survivors and helping to rebuild basic amenities.[28]
Iron Duke visited her home town, Kingston upon Hull, over the weekend of 26 to 29 April 2008 and was open to the public for six hours.[29][30]
By Friday 13 June Iron Duke arrived in Lisbon, Portugal after two operational stand-offs to determine that she was ready to deploy operationally. Iron Duke was briefed by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre-Narcotics, a pan-European counter-narcotics agency, about intelligence on criminal matters such as cannabis and cocaine smuggling on the high seas. She then moved to Gibraltar for re-supply and the infamous Rock Run. Iron Duke was now on Maritime Security Patrol in the North Atlantic.[31]
As of 31 August 2008 Iron Duke was dispatched to assist relief efforts for the Atlantic Hurricane Gustav.[32]
Iron Duke has intercepted illegal drugs being shipped from the Caribbean to Europe on several occasions, sometimes aided by embarked United States Coast Guardpersonnel. Large shipments were intercepted on 25 June 2003 (3.7 tonnes of cocaine on MV Yalta),[33] 2 June 2008 (900 kilograms of cocaine in a speedboat which later sank),[34] late July 2009 (drugs with a street value of £33million on a speedboat later sunk by gunfire).[35] and September 2009 (5.5 tonnes of cocaine).[36]
2011–present
Iron Duke (upper right) in front of Sutherland and behind Queen Elizabeth during the latter's first sea trials
Iron Duke spent the first half of 2011 in the Persian Gulf before relieving HMSLiverpool off the coast Libya where she took part in combat operations for the first time in her 20-year history. She entered the Joint Operating Area on 16 July 2011 and over the course of the next five days, she went to Action Stations several times to support operations ashore. She was responsible for the destruction of a gun battery outside the besieged town of Misrata, while the frigate’s 4.5-inch gun fired many illuminating starshells to light up targets for NATO planes.[12] She returned to Portsmouth in late July, in a joint homecoming with her sister ship Richmond[37]
The Royal Navy's next generation helicopter, Wildcat, completed 20 days of demanding trials aboard Iron Duke, her first frigate, in January 2012.[38]
In March 2012 Iron Duke began a major refit in HM Naval Base, Portsmouth. Some major parts of the work package took place for the first time on a Type 23 class of ship, as the MOD looks to extend the life of the Type 23 frigates beyond the original time frame to coincide with the introduction of the Type 26 class of ships, the first which is currently expected to enter service as soon as possible after 2020. Also included in the refit was the installation of BAE Systems Artisan medium-range 3D surveillance radar[39][40] and in June 2013 she was put back at sea.[41] She test fired 7.62mm rounds from her General Purpose Machine Guns and Mini-Guns, 3lb ceremonial guns and the torpedo system.[42] In early 2014, she successfully fired her new 'SWMLU' Seawolf missile system against towed targets, destroying two simulated hostile aircraft skimming the surface of the sea, targeting from the brand new 3D radar system.
On 20 June 2014, Iron Duke deployed on operations for the first time since her refit. The frigate will sail down the Atlantic, gradually working its way down south via the west coast of Africa to the British Overseas Territories in the region. It is a routine deployment known as Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South).[43] On 20 August 2014, Iron Duke received a 21 gun salute as she approached Robben Island to dock at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa.[44]
In January 2016, Iron Duke sailed on a six-month deployment including being tasked to Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. She took part in Exercise Dynamic Guard,[45][46] and Exercise BALTOPS 16.
In June 2017, Iron Duke was assigned to maritime security operations and training around the United Kingdom but deployed at short notice to represent the Royal Navy in the BALTOPS exercise in the Baltic.[47] Upon completion of the exercise she took part in Kiel Week 2017.
HMS Iron Duke, Liverpool, 2017
Iron Duke was exhibited at the National Armed Forces day in Liverpool which ran from 24–25 June 2017 where the prime minister Theresa May visited the ship. Iron Duke was also open to the public. On 28 June, in company with HMSSutherland, Iron Duke provided escort for the aircraft carrier HMSQueen Elizabeth during her first days of sea trials. It was reported in 2018 that Iron Duke was laid up alongside in Portsmouth as a training ship since mid-2017, owing to a lack of manpower to fully crew the ship. In January 2019, the ship was towed out of Portsmouth for a major refit at Devonport, Plymouth. This 'LIFEX' refit would add Sea Ceptor, Artisan radar and new diesel generator sets. The ship's nearly five-year refit involved nearly 1.7 million hours of labour and was completed in 2023. She returned to sea for post-refit sea trials in May 2023.[48]
In November 2024, HMS Iron Duke, along with tanker RFA Tideforce, monitored a trio of Russian vessels: the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigateAdmiral Golovko, oceanographic research vessel Yantar and Kaliningradneft-class tankerVyazma as they passed through the North Sea and English Channel en route to the Atlantic. All three had been tracked by the Royal Norwegian Navy before the Royal Navy took over. HMS Iron Duke and RFA Tideforce both followed the trio through the Dover Strait and Channel before handing over monitoring duties to the French Navy. The Yantar, however, continued to remain in the UK’s area of interest, heading north into the Irish Sea, with minehunter HMS Cattistock monitoring the survey vessel. As the Golovko and Vyazma continued their journey past France, Iron Duke took over shadowing duties of a second Russian group: frigate Neustrashimy and the replenishment oiler Akademik Pashin, which were making for their home port in the Baltic. The British ships remained in contact with the pair back through the Channel and into the North Sea before handing over to Dutch warship, HNLMS De Ruyter to finish escorting them back into the Baltic. Throughout the week-long operation, Iron Duke made use of both her own Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron, plus a Merlin of 814 Naval Air Squadron based at Culdrose, an RAF P8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and aerial assets of other allies to ensure the Russian vessels were closely monitored throughout.[49][50][51][52]
The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, HMS Norfolk, was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, HMS St Albans was commissioned in June 2002. They form the core of the Royal Navy's destroyer and frigate fleet and serve alongside the Type 45 destroyers. They were designed for anti-submarine warfare, but have been used for a range of uses. Nine Type 23 frigates remain in service with the Royal Navy, with three vessels having been sold to the Chilean Navy and four being retired since 2021.
HMS Montrose was the eighth of the sixteen-ship Type 23 or Duke class of frigates, of the Royal Navy, named after the Duke of Montrose. She was laid down in November 1989 by Yarrow Shipbuilders on the Clyde, and was launched on 31 July 1992 by Edith Rifkind, wife of Malcolm Rifkind, Secretary of State for Defence. She was commissioned into service in June 1994.
The third HMS Argyll is a Type 23 Duke-class frigate. Commissioned in 1991 and prior to her retirement, Argyll was the oldest serving Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy. Like all of her class she was named after a British dukedom, in this case that of Argyll. HMS Argyll was laid down in March 1987 by Yarrow Shipbuilders at Glasgow, and launched in 1989 by Lady Wendy Levene, sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Paviors.
HMS Lancaster is a Duke-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 May 1990. The ship is known as "The Queen's Frigate", the Duke of Lancaster being a subsidiary title of the Sovereign. Being the third ship in the Type 23 class, Lancaster was originally allocated the pennant number F232 until it was noted that the 232 is the Royal Navy report form for groundings and collisions and therefore considered unlucky. She is one of the few ships left in the fleet with some female officers but mess decks which are men-only.
HMS Monmouth was the sixth Duke-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was the seventh ship to bear the name and was launched by Lady Eaton in 1991, being commissioned two years later.
HMS Westminster is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the second ship to bear the name. She was launched on 4 February 1992 and named after the Dukedom of Westminster.
HMS Northumberland is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is named after the Duke of Northumberland. She is the eighth RN ship to bear the name since the first 70-gun ship of the line in 1679, and the ninth in the class of Type 23 frigates. She is based at Devonport and is part of the Devonport Flotilla.
HMS Richmond is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 6 April 1993 by Lady Hill-Norton, wife of the late Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Hill-Norton, and was the last warship to be built by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders. She sailed from the builders on the River Tyne in November 1994. She is named for the Dukedom of Richmond.
HMS Somerset is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the eleventh ship of the class to join the fleet since 1989. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd on the River Clyde, in Scotland and was launched in June 1994 by Lady Elspeth Layard, wife of then 2nd Sea Lord Admiral and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command Admiral Sir Michael Layard. She entered service in 1996. Lady Layard is the ship's sponsor. She is named after the Dukedom of Somerset.
HMS Sutherland is a Type 23 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She is the thirteenth ship in the Duke class of frigates and is the third ship to bear the name, more than 200 years since the name was last used.
HMS Kent is a Type 23 Duke-class frigate of the Royal Navy, and the twelfth ship to bear the name, although formally she is named after the dukedom rather than the county. Sponsored by Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy, Kent was launched on 28 May 1998 and commissioned on 8 June 2000 under the command of then Commander John Clink. She was the first ship to enter Royal Navy service in the 21st century and the first Royal Navy warship with a female Executive Officer, Lt Cdr Vanessa Jane Spiller, appointed in April 2001.
HMS Portland is a Type 23 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She is the eighth ship to bear the name and is the fifteenth and penultimate ship of the 'Duke' class of frigates, and is named for the currently extinct title of the Dukedom of Portland, and more particularly for the third Duke, who was Prime Minister.
HMS St Albans is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the sixth ship to bear the name and is the sixteenth and final ship in the Duke class of frigates. She is based in Devonport, Plymouth.
HMS Daring is the lead ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy, and the seventh ship to hold that name. She was launched in 2006 on the Clyde and conducted contractor's sea trials during 2007 and 2008. She was handed over to the Royal Navy in December 2008, entered her base port of Portsmouth for the first time in January 2009 and was formally commissioned on 23 July 2009. As the lead ship of the first destroyer class built for the Royal Navy since the Type 42 in the 1970s, she has attracted significant media and public attention. Her name, crest and motto are a reference to the Roman youth Gaius Mucius Scaevola, famed for his bravery.
HMS Dauntless is the second ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the British Royal Navy. She was launched at Govan in January 2007, was handed over to the Royal Navy on 3 December 2009 and was formally commissioned on 3 June 2010.
HMS Dragon is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in November 2008 and commissioned on 20 April 2012.
HMS Defender is the fifth of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She is the eighth ship to bear the name. Construction of Defender began in 2006, and she was launched in 2009. The ship completed her first sea trials in October and November 2011, and was commissioned during March 2013.
HMS Duncan is the sixth and last of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy and launched in 2010. Duncan is named after Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, who defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797. The destroyer has served in the Mediterranean, Black, and Caribbean Seas, and in 2019 was deployed to the Persian Gulf in response to increased tensions with Iran in the region. In May 2024, she deployed to the Red Sea to protect international shipping from the ongoing Houthi attacks.
HMS Medway is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel for the Royal Navy. Named after the River Medway in Kent, she was the second Batch 2 River-class vessel to be commissioned and is assigned long-term as Royal Navy guardship in the Caribbean.
HMS Trent is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel, named after the River Trent. This is the sixth Royal Navy ship named Trent. She is the third Batch 2 River-class vessel to be commissioned and is forward deployed to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Guinea.
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