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Current Location
British coastal waters
10:07 GMT - 21 December 2011
Search and Rescue
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HMS Iron Duke
HMS Iron Duke, the ship in which Prince William served, returned to Portsmouth from a busy and varied six-and-a-half month Gulf deployment in July. After some well earned leave she will be back at sea providing crucial training for future Warfare Officers and Aircrew before going into a significant upkeep period in early 2012.
virtutis fortuna comes - Fortune is the companion of valour
Ship's Motto
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Iron Duke in Gibraltar, January 2011
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Iron Duke in Crete, January 2011
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Iron Duke and Grimsby at sea in April 2011
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Iron Duke in January 2011
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HMS Iron Duke
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HMS Iron Duke
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Iron Duke during Operation Unified Protector in July 2011
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Iron Duke in Crete in January 2011
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HMS Iron Duke
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HMS Iron Duke
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HMS Iron Duke
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HMS Iron Duke
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HMS Iron Duke Captain
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HMS Iron Duke
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Iron Duke hosted a cocktail party for Sir John Major in February 2011
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HMS Iron Duke
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Iron Duke hosted a cocktail party for Sir John Major in February 2011
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HMS Iron Duke
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The First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope visited Iron Duke in May 2011
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Iron Duke conducts a RAS with the USNS Tippecanoe in May 2011
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Iron Duke conducts a RAS with the USNS Tippecanoe in May 2011
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Iron Duke and St Albans conduct the handover of operations in the Middle East in July 2011
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Pilot and Observer getting into their helicopter Chargeron the flightdeck of Iron Duke with the sun setting
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LAET Martin winching up Surg Lt Lucy Mathews (D) during winching practice from the flight deck of Iron Duke in May 2011
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HMS Iron Duke’s rugby team played a group of ex-pats from Doha in May 2011
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HMS Iron Duke’s ships company celebrated her 18th birthday in May 2011
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Iron Duke during Operation Unified Protector in July 2011
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Iron Duke arrives in Portsmouth
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HMS IRON DUKE
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HMS IRON DUKE
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HMS IRON DUKE PASSES UNDER THE FORTH BRIDGE
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HMS IRON DUKE
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HMS IRON DUKE
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HMS Iron Duke
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Iron Duke and St Albans swap places on Gulf mission
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HMS Iron Duke
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HMS Iron Duke – visits her Humber home
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HMS Iron Duke passed under Forth Bridge in Scotland
During this time she will also provide the platform for the first trials of the Wildcat aircraft, which will replace the Lynx helicopter. | |
Nearly 20 years old, Iron Duke has been updated for these operations and is a capable and versatile warship. The ship’s company conducted extensive training for their recent East of Suez deployment, which is the first time the ship had been East of Suez. | |
HMS Iron Duke is Portsmouth-based, with affiliation to the city of Hull, and the island of Jersey, her ship’s company comes from all over Britain and beyond. |
COMMANDING OFFICER
Nick Cooke-Priest
- RANK:
- Commander
- JOINED:
- 1990
- SPECIALISATION:
- Warfare (Observer)
- PREVIOUS UNITS:
- HMS Kent, HMS Gloucester
Military experience
Commander Nick Cooke Priest joined the Royal Navy in November 1990 and having completed initial officer training at BRNC Dartmouth, undertook observer flying training specialising on the Lynx and culminating with 6 months deployed in HMS Beaver as part of the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean.
His first front line appointment to HMS Brilliant included deployment to the Adriatic Sea as the Flagship for Operation Sharp Guard (embargo operations), during which he was responsible as the Task Group’s Helicopter Elemental Co-ordinator.
Appointment to 815 Naval Air Squadron as the Assistant Operations Officer followed in 1995, prior to 2 years with the Squadron’s Support Flight which included humanitarian and disaster relief operations on the volcano stricken island of Montserrat, counter-drug operations and in support of future equipment trials.
He spent the next 18 months instructing on the staff of 702 Naval Air Squadron before appointment to HMS Exeter in 2000 as the Flight Commander. Completing the Principle Warfare Officer Course in 2003, he was appointed to HMS Marlborough where he enjoyed a varied and intensely busy 22 months and which included during his tenure as Operations Officer, deployments to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, United States and North Arabian Gulf assuring the security of the Iraqi offshore oil platforms.
Promoted Lieutenant Commander in 2005, 2 years on the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training followed where he was primarily tasked with the development, planning and assessment of RN and NATO warships undertaking Basic and Directed Capability Training. He was assigned to HMS Gloucester as the Executive Officer in September 2007 as she emerged from deep maintenance and which culminated in deployment to the South Atlantic assuring the integrity of the British dependencies in that region.
Promoted Commander in September 2009, he has commanded the Frigate HMS Kent, and took Command of HMS Iron Duke in October 2010.
His hobbies include sport, family and flying.
OPERATIONS
Wildcat Helo Trials
CURRENT STATUS: active
Wildcat helicopter sea shoul trials
UK coastal navigation training
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
Honing and sharpening skills in navigation, seamanship and shipboard life.
Operation Ellamy
CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
The UK commitment to supporting NATO in protecting civilians under threat in Libya and endorsing the UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 against the regime of Colonel Gaddafi.
LATEST NEWS
TOP STORIES
New Naval helicopter tested to the limits on Iron Duke
11 January 2012The Navy’s next-generation helicopter has begun its most extensive trials...
Wildcat roars into Portsmouth for the first time
21 December 2011The Navy’s next-generation helicopter has made its debut on the...
Shell from Liverpool’s Libyan mission takes pride of place at No.10
09 December 2011The crew of HMS Liverpool presented a shell case to...
Loved ones see double as two ships return to Portsmouth together
02 December 2011Two warships returned to Portsmouth today within minutes of each...
WEAPONS SYSTEM
Weapons System
Type 23 weapons System
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4.5Mk8 Gun
medium calibre weapon system
If you're looking for punch and firepower, then the 4.5in main gun, found on the forecastle of all the Royal Navy's destroyer's frigates and destroyers, is the most obvious provider. Even in an age of missiles, there's still a need for a weapon to pulverise enemy positions and demoralise the foe - and the 4.5in gun has done so in the Falklands and Iraq. The gun can fire up to two dozen high explosive shells weighing more than 40kg (80lbs) at targets more than a dozen miles away - and nearly 18 miles if special extended-range shells are used. In various forms, the 4.5in has been the Navy's standard medium gun since before World War 2, embodied today by the Mk8 which has been in service since the early 1970s. There are two types of Mk8 used by the Fleet. The older Mod 0 (with its curved turret), which is gradually being replaced, and the angular Mod 1 (nicknamed Kryten after the robot on the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf) which is harder for enemy radar to pick up. The main purpose of the gun is Naval Gunfire Support – artillery bombardment of shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing the equivalent of a six-gun shore battery. The Mk8 can also be used effectively against surface targets at sea.
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Harpoon
Anti-ship missile System
Harpoon is the long-range lance of the Type 23 frigate, capable of destroying enemy ships far beyond the horizon. Fitted to all Type 23 Frigates, the Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) Harpoon is a sophisticated anti-ship missile capable of striking at targets more than 80 miles away. Harpoon uses a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing to attack its prey. Cruising at Mach 0.9 and carrying a large high explosive warhead it is powered by a lightweight turbojet, but is accelerated at launch by a booster rocket.
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Helicopter
Airbourne weapons System
The Merlin Mk1 have been in service with the Fleet Air Arm since the late 1990s and, after thorough testing and evaluation, the helicopters have been on the front line since 2000. Our job is to find – and if necessary destroy – enemy submarines using our state-of-the-art sonar bouys which we drop into the ocean and Sting Ray torpedoes. Beyond searching for submarines, we carry out traditional maritime helicopter duties: anti-piracy/drug-running patrols, surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue, and passenger and load transfers
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Sea Wolf
Surface to Air Missile system
Seawolf is the shield of Britain’s frigate fleet against air attack. Defending Britain's frigate fleet against air attack, the Seawolf missile has been in service for more than 30 years and has proven itself in action in the Falklands. Unlike Sea Viper and Sea Dart, Seawolf is intended to defend an individual ship rather than a task group, engaging aircraft or sea-skimming missiles. It is fired either from a vertical silo on Type 23 frigates, and guided on to its target courtesy of a tracking system on the ship. The original Seawolf had a very limited range of just six miles, but the frigate fleet is in the middle of receiving the latest, more potent version of the missile system. It means that Seawolf can track – and destroy – a target the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound well beyond the limit of the original missile. If the system was placed in the middle of London, it could track its target over the M25 and knock it out of the sky over the North Circular - and the whole action would last under 20 seconds. Each Type 23 frigate carries out at least two Seawolf firings on ranges off the UK coast before each deployment.
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DLH Decoy Launch System
active decoy system
The DLH system is carried by the Navy's frigates and is designed to lure attacking anti-ship missiles away from the unit.
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Torpedo
Magazine torpedo launch System (MTLS)
Dropped by Lynx and Merlin helicopters, and launched from the MTLS, Sting Ray is a small lightweight torpedo designed to destroy enemy submarines. It weighs seven times less than torpedoes fired by submarines, racing through the water at more than 50mph at targets half a dozen miles away, delivering a 100lb explosive charge powerful enough to punch through the double hulls of modern submarines. Once Sting Ray is fired it uses the information provided initially by the helicopter and gathers fresh intelligence on its target using its sonar and onboard software which is designed not to be fooled by the enemy submarine’s decoys.
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Towed Array
Sub Surface detection system
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30mm Gun
Medium Calibre gun system
ABOUT THE UNIT
KEY STATISTICS
- Pennant
F234
- Displacement
4,900tonnes
- Complement
181personnel
- Length
133Metres
- Beam
16.1metres
- Draught
7.3metres
- Top Speed
28knots
- Range (Nautical)
7,800miles
- Launch Date
02/03/91
- Commissioned date
20/05/93
- Value of drugs seized by HMS Iron Duke in 2009
280million
TAKE A LOOK
PHOTO GALLERY
Iron Duke
UNITS IN TIME
HMS Iron Duke HISTORY
TRACK THE HISTORY OF SHIPS NAMED HMS Iron Duke
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