Type 23 Frigates

The 13 Type 23 – or Duke-class – frigates are the core of the front-line Fleet. They can typically be found east of Suez, safeguarding Britain's vital maritime trade routes or Britain's interests in the South Atlantic. Based in Portsmouth and Devonport, the ships were designed to deal with the Soviet submarine threat – but in the 20 years since the fall of Communism, the frigates have proven their versatility by dealing with virtually every mission imaginable in the four corners of the globe - as well as maintaining that original mission of submarine hunting, aided by the world's finest sonar and either a Merlin or Lynx helicopter.

Complement: 185Personnel

Beam: 16.1Metres

Displacement: 4,900Tonnes

Draught: 7.3Metres

Length: 133Metres

Range (Nautical): 7,800miles

Top Speed: 28knots

Vessels in Action

HMS Argyll

Based in Plymouth, HMS Argyll is the longest-serving Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy. Built in the late 1980s at the Yarrow Yard in Scotstoun on the Clyde (today part of BAE Systems), she was commissioned in 1991. Following an extensive £20 million refit in Rosyth during 2009 to 2010, HMS Argyll has now emerged as one of the most up-to-date and capable frigates in the Fleet, with her structure preserved and her weapons and sensors significantly enhanced.

HMS Argyll

Based in Plymouth, HMS Argyll is the longest-serving Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy. Built in the late 1980s at the Yarrow Yard in Scotstoun on the Clyde (today part of BAE Systems), she was commissioned in 1991. Following an extensive £20 million refit in Rosyth during 2009 to 2010, HMS Argyll has now emerged as one of the most up-to-date and capable frigates in the Fleet, with her structure preserved and her weapons and sensors significantly enhanced.
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HMS Iron Duke

HMS Iron Duke is in the final phases of readying her propulsion machinery, weapons systems and navigational safety equipment, ready to return to sea for the first time since entering refit in early 2012.

She has received extensive upgrades to her weapons systems and is the first ship with the new ‘Artisan’ 3D Radar. With this cutting edge technology she will be able to conduct operations around the globe.
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HMS Monmouth

HMS Monmouth, the ‘Black Duke’ – the ship which has more battle honours than any other serving warship. She is currently away from her home port of Plymouth, taking over the Royal Navy’s routine deployment to the Gulf through the winter and into the spring of 2013 as part of the continuous British presence in the region since the early 1980s.
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HMS Richmond

HMS Richmond is among the most tried and tested in the Fleet, having pounded Saddam Hussein’s defences on the Al Faw peninsula in the opening hours of the 2003 Iraq campaign, to providing vital aid in the Caribbean after Hurricane Ivan – the tenth strongest storm in history – steamrollered through a succession of islands in 2004.
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HMS Westminster

HMS Westminster is currently completing an intensive period of Operational Sea Training in UK waters in preparation for operations in the Indian Ocean and Gulf later in the year.This period includes such tasks as shipborne fire fighting and flooding exercises as a result of enemy action or in response to peacetime emergencies.
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HMS Kent

HMS Kent is one of the newest of the Type 23 frigates within the Royal Navy arsenal. Built by BAE Systems’ Scotstoun Shipyard on the Clyde, she was launched on 27 May 1998 by Princess Alexandra of Kent.
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HMS Montrose

Type 23 Frigate HMS Montrose has recently been at sea in the South Coast Exercise Areas and off the North Scottish coast undertaking intensive unit, and Task Group, training in the form of Basic Operational Sea Training and Joint Warrior.
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LATEST NEWS

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- HMS Iron Duke
  
  Royal Navy warship HMS Iron Duke is to visit the Cayman Islands again, nearly a year after providing reassurance to Cayman Brac in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. The Shipâs primary role in the region is to provide reassurance and support to all the UK Overseas Territories, especially during the core hurricane season. Once again Iron Duke will also be part of an International Task Force hunting narcotics traffickers across the Caribbean. Whilst on a similar deployment last year, in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, the Shipâs helicopter allowed Governor Stuart Jack and Cayman Bracâs District Commissioner to establish quickly the extent of the Hurricaneâs impact. The Ship stood by to provide first aid and humanitarian assistance which was thankfully not required.Iron Dukeâs Commanding Officer, Commander Andrew Stacey said: âIt is a real pleasure to be bringing the Ship back to the Cayman Islands, especially as last year the team built such a rapport with the Islandâs emergency agencies. We are all very much looking forward to the visit.âThe Ship will visit the Islands 7-9 July. During the visit Iron Duke will be meeting with civil leaders to increase the Shipâs understanding of local arrangements for disaster relief. The Ship will also take part in Exercise Viking Thistle II, working with the Cayman Marine Unit and the Jamaican Defence Forces to further strengthen ties with local authorities.Alongside her primary Disaster Relief role, Iron Duke also has a United States Coast Guard detachment embarked as much of her time is spent conducting counter narcotics operations and contributing to Maritime Security in the Caribbean. During last yearâs deployment Iron Duke, working with the US Coast Guard and with Prince William embarked, seized almost a tonne of Cocaine.
- HMS Argyll
- HMS Kent
- HMS Kent
- HMS Lancaster
- HMS Montrose