HMS Iron Duke (F234)
HMS Iron Duke is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the third ship to bear the name.
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Iron Duke.
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]
Commissioning and construction[edit]
Iron Duke was launched on 2 March 1991 by Lady Jane King in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Wellington.[13] Her affiliated town is Kingston upon Hull, and she is named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington (the "Iron Duke"). She was the fifth Duke-class Type 23 frigate to be launched for the Royal Navy, at a cost of £140 million.
The motto of Iron Duke is Virtutis Fortuna Comes (Latin: "Fortune is the companion of valour") – inherited from the 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's) Regiment of Foot.
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.
Notable billeting[edit]
Prince William served on Iron Duke in the Caribbean for 5 weeks from late June 2008 with the rank of sub-lieutenant.[49]