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.
Type 23 Frigates
- 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.
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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, the ship in which Prince William served and winner of the 2011/12 Fleet Efficiency Award is currently undergoing a 5 yearly refit involving major maintenance and upgrades to her machinery, weapons and sensors. Having been deployed East of Suez and off Libya during 2011 as well as providing a flight deck for trials of the Navy’s new Wildcat helicopter, she ended a very successful operational period on entering dry dock in Portsmouth in March 2012.
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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 in her home port of Plymouth, recovering from her recent 7 month deployment East of Suez and preparing to deploy once again
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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 deployed on operations East of Suez. Her mission is to “defend the nation’s interests” in this strategically important part of the world. This will involve a multitude of tasks from counter piracy and safeguarding the sea lanes, to reassuring the UK’s allies in the region and flying the flag for the best of British.
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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. HMS Kent has recently sailed following an extensive refit in Rosyth. She is expected to re-join the Fleet in early 2012 and be ready to deploy on operations in 2013.
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HMS Montrose
Having made her mark as the Royal Navy’s pirate-buster par excellence during the 2010 deployment off Somalia, HMS Montrose has now embarked on another operational deployment. With a different focus to last year, she has been deployed to provide a continous presence in the South Atlantic, protecting British interests in the region.
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