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We are Land, Sea and Air.

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    13:20 GMT - 23 May 2012

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    The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

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        HMS Iron Duke

        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.

        virtutis fortuna comes - Fortune is the companion of valour

        Ship's Motto
        HMS Iron Duke

        Having moved to offices ashore and having reduced from 187 to 36, the Ship’s Company, along with the refit contractor, are charged with delivering an ambitious package of work which will see the Ship return to the Fleet ready for future operational tasking.

        Although nearly 20 years old, the Ship remains a highly versatile platform. Major upgrades to her Command and Control and SeaWolf weapon systems will ensure that she is at the cutting edge of naval warfare when she emerges from refit mid-2013.

        HMS Iron Duke is Portsmouth-based and is affiliated with the City of Hull, and the island of Jersey, her Ship’s Company come from all over Britain and beyond.

        COMMANDING OFFICER

        Dan Peskett

        Dan Peskett
        RANK:
        Lieutenant Commander
        JOINED:
        2001
        SPECIALISATION:
        Engineer
        PREVIOUS UNITS:
        Chatham, Cambletown, Clyde
        Military experience

        Lieutenant Commander Dan Peskett joined the Royal Navy having accepted a place on the Engineering Sponsorship Scheme to study Mechanical Engineering at Southampton University.

        On passing out of BRNC in 2001, he undertook Marine Engineering training at Sultan before going on to complete appointments in Campbeltown and Chatham undertaking SNFM and Calash deployments. During the latter, Chatham was diverted to Sri-Lanka where he was involved in disaster relief following the tsunami of 2004.

        A short stint at Abbey Wood within the Minewarfare, Patrol and Hydrographic IPT preceded Staff Course before a return to sea. He then served as the last MEO of Dumbarton Castle during the year of the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict and the handover to HMS Clyde.

        An eventful return passage via the west coast of South America finished with the Ship’s decommissioning in December 2007.

        He then moved to BRNC Dartmouth in 2008 to become the Remedial Training Officer within the RNLA. Here he thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities to work on Dartmoor and on the River Dart whilst training UK and overseas Officer Cadets. During this period he was selected for promotion and prior to joining Iron Duke worked within the DE&S as the RN Acceptance Manager for the Trinidad and Tobago Coastguard overseeing the build of 3 OPVs by BAE in Portsmouth and Glasgow.

        A keen Squash player he also enjoys hiking and any waterborne activity. As an Engineer Officer, having been banned from using tools at work, he is currently taking his sailing boat through a major refit, current Fleet Date is July 2012 but some slippage is likely.


        OPERATIONS

        Maintenance

        CURRENT STATUS: active
        image
        MISSION SUMMARY

        In maintenance: Currently undergoing an upkeep period to prepare the ship for continued duties with the Fleet by maintaining and improving our engines, weapons and communications systems.

        Wildcat Helo Trials

        CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
        image
        MISSION SUMMARY

        Wildcat helicopter sea shoul trials

        UK coastal navigation training

        CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
        image
        MISSION SUMMARY

        Honing and sharpening skills in navigation, seamanship and shipboard life.

        Operation Telic

        CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED
        image
        MISSION SUMMARY

        An ongoing UK commitment to clearing and maintaining a mine countermeasures force in the Gulf.

        LATEST NEWS

         

        TOP STORIES

        ROYAL NAVY TOASTS JERSEY BOAT SHOW WITH DOUBLE WHAMMY
        Royal Navy Toasts Jersey Boat Show with Double Whammy
        18 May 2012

        A pint of bitter named after Jersey’s affiliated warship HMS...

        Artist Ross Watson with the Commanding Officer
        Artist captures ship in action off Libya
        13 March 2012

        Portsmouth-based warship HMS Iron Duke has had a moment in...

        Rear Admiral Peter Hudson presenting the 2011 Frigate Efficiency Trophy to HMS Iron Duke's Commanding Officer, Cdr Nick Cooke-Priest
        Double award for HMS Iron Duke
        06 March 2012

        Portsmouth-based Warship HMS Iron Duke has scooped two awards for...

        Wildcat
        Wildcat impresses during its first trials aboard a warship
        17 February 2012

        The Navy’s next-generation helicopter has completed 20 days of demanding...

        WEAPONS SYSTEM

        Weapons System

        Type 23 weapons System
        type 23
        • 4.5Mk8 Gun
          medium calibre weapon system
          Mk8 4.5 Gun

          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.

        • Harpoon
          Anti-ship missile System
          Harpoon

          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.

        • Helicopter
          Airbourne weapons System
          Merlin

          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

        • Sea Wolf
          Surface to Air Missile system
          Sea wolf

          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.

        • DLH Decoy Launch System
          active decoy system
          Chaff

          The DLH system is carried by the Navy's frigates and is designed to lure attacking anti-ship missiles away from the unit.

        • Torpedo
          Magazine torpedo launch System (MTLS)
          Torpedo

          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.

        • Towed Array
          Sub Surface detection system
          towed array

        • 30mm Gun
          Medium Calibre gun system
          30mm Gun

        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
        • The First Iron Duke

          The Iron Duke story begins in 1870 with an Audacious-class battleship – not entirely dissimilar to HMS Warrior which is today a museum piece in Portsmouth Harbour. The battleship was officially known as Duke but during her construction at Pembroke shipyard, she acquired the nickname Iron Duke – and the name stuck.

        • Suez Canal

          HMS Iron Duke became the first battleship to pass through the new Suez Canal on her way to take up her role as the flagship of the China Fleet, where she spent much of her active career. She ended her days as a coastguard vessel and finally coal hulk.

        • The Second Iron Duke

          The second and most famous Iron Duke was the legendary World War 1 battleship which served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet – the largest and most powerful naval force of the day. It was from the bridge of Iron Duke that Admiral Jellicoe directed the Battle of Jutland – the greatest clash of warships ever witnessed in European waters – on 31 May 1916. The ship suffered no damage that day, but she did inflict heavy punishment on the German battleship König.

        • Training Vessel

          Iron Duke remained on active service through the 1920s until she was reduced to a training vessel in the 1930s. She spent World War 2 in Scapa Flow as a base and port defence ship before being broken up at the war’s end.

        Current Jobs

        Aircraft Controller

        As an Aircraft Controller, you’ll be the critical link between the aircraft and its base, whether that’s a ship at sea or Royal Naval Air Station on land. You’re involved in the mission at every stage, from getting the aircraft...
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        Chef

        As a highly-trained Chef, you’ll be part of a busy team cooking and preparing first class food, making sure the ship’s company (which, on an assault ship, could be up to 900 people) receives three nutritious meals a day. It’s...
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        Medical Officer

        As a Medical Officer, you’re a member of our senior management team as well as a doctor, making this one of the most wide-ranging, challenging and rewarding environments in which to practise medicine. You can specialise in a major discipline,...
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