HMS Iron Duke was the general flagship of the Great Fleet until November 1916. In 2000, under the command of Commander Ben Key for Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South), Iron Duke was part of the Royal Navy task force—comprising Illustrious, Ocean, Argyll, Chatham, and four RFA ships—that deployed to Sierra Leone during the civil war there. Her propulsion system consisted of four Parsons steam turbines, with steam provided by eighteen Babcock & Wilcox boilers. After receiving further information about the possibility of the rest of the German fleet being at sea, Jellicoe gave the order for the fleet to sortie to try to intercept the Germans, though by that time they had already retreated. Iron Duke relieved Argyll of her duties in September. In January 2019, the ship was towed out of Portsmouth for a major refit at Devonport, Plymouth. HMS Iron Duke was the second battleship named after the Duke of Wellington. [11][12], After 18 months of refit and upgrading, by March 2008 Iron Duke was halfway through her Operational Sea Training, in readiness for deployment to the North Atlantic at the end of May. In October, she was badly damaged by German bombers and was run aground to avoid sinking. number: A04210 Price: £14.99 Scale: 1:600 Dimensions (mm) L316 x W45.5 Skill level: Kit contents: Parts: 183 Sprues: 4 Transfer sheets: 1 .HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (famous for his victory at the Battle of Waterloo). [28] The tanker had come loose during a severe gale, which had winds of up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h). [58] Iron Duke returned to Novorossiysk on 19 January 1920. [35], 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's) Regiment of Foot, Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre-Narcotics, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot), "Frigate Sails For Counter-Drugs Operations", "Six Ships Return To Portsmouth in Three Days", "Pressure Is on As Royal Navy Warship Is Put Through Its Paces in Avonmouth", "Operational Sea Training – Disaster in the Caribbean! 1912. German aerial reconnaissance spotted Iron Duke and two decoy battleships, merchant ships that had been camouflaged with wood and canvas to look like Revenge-class battleships, in the harbour, and erroneously identified them as active units of the Home Fleet. Prince William served on Iron Duke in the Caribbean for 5 weeks from late June 2008 with the rank of sub-lieutenant. Her deck was 2.5 in (64 mm) thick in the central portion of the ship, and reduced to 1 in (25 mm) elsewhere. Her cruising radius was 7,800 nautical miles (14,446 km; 8,976 mi) at a more economical 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph). Ron Horabin. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats. In January 2016, Iron Duke sailed on a six-month deployment including being tasked to Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. ", "Portsmouth Frigates return home from operations", "New naval helicopter tested to the limits on, "Prince To Tackle Smugglers in Caribbean", List of frigate classes of the Royal Navy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Iron_Duke_(F234)&oldid=1002605034, Articles with dead external links from March 2019, Articles with dead external links from October 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 4,900 t (4,800 long tons; 5,400 short tons). I’m currently looking at ways in which the battleship HMS Iron Duke could have been modernised into a ‘fast battleship’ during the 1930s. Ship photo of HMS IRON DUKE (F234) taken by shipspotter miraflores at FleetMon.com, the global free ship database. Like her Tier V contemporaries, Iron Duke boasts large caliber guns and thick armor. [8], Iron Duke and the rest of the fleet conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January 1915 west of Orkney and Shetland. [Note 1] As was typical for capital ships of the period, she was equipped with four 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes submerged on the broadside. Iron Duke was launched on 2 March 1991 by Lady King in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Wellington. To prevent her from sinking, her crew had to run the ship aground. HMS Marlborough, between 1943-1944 he was on Torpedo Training in Eastbourne, HMS Iron Duke. [24] On 2–5 November, Iron Duke participated in another fleet training operation west of the Orkneys. Iron Duke was again badly damaged, as was the heavy cruiser Norfolk. HMS Benbow leads her sister ships Marlborough and Iron Duke. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, and her keel laid in January 1912. The 3rd Squadron was moved to the Atlantic Fleet in March 1926, where it was used as a training squadron. [11] The work was completed by 23 February, after which she returned to Scapa Flow. Large shipments were intercepted on 25 June 2003 (3.7 tonnes of cocaine on MV Yalta),[20] 2 June 2008 (900 kilograms of cocaine in a speedboat which later sank),[21] late July 2009 (drugs with a street value of £33m on a speedboat later sunk by gunfire). [48] Over the course of the battle, Iron Duke had fired ninety rounds from her main battery,[49] along with fifty rounds from her secondary guns. [29] In early 2014, she successfully fired her new 'SWMLU' Seawolf missile system against towed targets, destroying two simulated hostile aircraft skimming the surface of the sea, targeting from the brand new 3D radar system. Iron Duke guided the destroyers back to Scapa while the rest of the fleet retired independently. [18], As of 31 August 2008 Iron Duke was dispatched to assist relief efforts for the Atlantic Hurricane Gustav. Iron Duke carries a number of weapons and sensors which make her a multi-purpose combat vessel. [31], On 21 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a demonstration off Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the Russian Navy relaid its defensive minefields in the Baltic Sea. [3] On 17 October 1939, four Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers attacked Scapa Flow, and damaged Iron Duke with several near misses. In June 2017, Iron Duke was assigned to maritime security operations and training around the United Kingdom but deployed at short notice to represent the Royal Navy in the BALTOPS exercise in the Baltic. She also fired star shells through the night to illuminate pro-Gadaffi 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.[2]. Photo of HMS IRON DUKE (F234) (Frigate, IMO: 8949628, MMSI: 234604000, Callsign: GCOB, Flag: United Kingdom, Photo-ID: 3151613) taken by miraflores. In January 1917, she was relieved as fleet flagship. This exercise tested the defensive capabilities of the ship and the flexibility of proportional response to threats. It is also part of the Royal Navy’s £100m programme to equip its frigates, ships and Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers with the radar. [30] On the night of 25 March, Iron Duke and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support the Battlecruiser Fleet and other light forces that raided the German zeppelin base at Tondern. Her affiliated town is Kingston upon Hull, and she is named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington (the "Iron Duke"). [69], The ship's presence in Scapa Flow may have affected the Germans' plans during Operation Rheinübung, the Atlantic sortie of the battleship Bismarck in May 1941. Two 4 in (100 mm) anti-aircraft guns were installed on the forward superstructure. Iron Duke was therefore converted into a gunnery training ship; her armour and much of her armament was removed to render her unfit for combat. The first installation of a NATO Radial Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear filter system was made; this filter was undergoing trials prior to installation across the fleet, if successful. [57] On 14 October, the ship stopped in Sevastopol. [18] Iron Duke, the 2nd Battle Squadron, and the 1st Cruiser Squadron conducted gunnery training at Cromarty on 2 August; after completing the drills, the ships returned to Scapa Flow. [28] She was featured in the film Brown on Resolution, which was released in May 1935. Admiral Osmond Brock, the Mediterranean Fleet commander, ordered Iron Duke to proceed to Smyrna, where he expected disturbances. These four ships spent nearly all their career within the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow. In the Home Fleet, she served as the flagship of Admiral Sir George Callaghan. The boats were reworked to have benches and planking. [6], In May 2002 Iron Duke re-entered service after a refit, armed with a new 4.5 inch Mod 1 gun. HMS Benbow was an Iron Duke class battleship of the Royal Navy. Filter the results based on the photo properties. All aspects of warfare were included in the training, including the infamous 'Thursday War' training exercise. The Latham family visiting HMS Iron Duke on an Open Day in 2015. [21] Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. [15], Iron Duke visited her home town, Kingston upon Hull, over the weekend of 26 to 29 April 2008 and was open to the public for six hours. On 20 June 2014, Iron Duke deployed on operations for the first time since her refit. She entered the Joint Operating Area on 16 July 2011 and over the course of the next five days, she went to Action Stations several times to support operations ashore. Taken on: 2017-06-19 19:31:23. She returned to the UK in December 2006. [68] On 16 March 1940 the ship, which was still beached, was attacked again by Luftwaffe aircraft. Select from premium Royal Navy Battleship Hms Iron Duke of the highest quality. She displaced 25,000 long tons (25,401 t) as designed and up to 29,560 long tons (30,034 t) at full load. [53], In March 1919, Iron Duke was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she again served as flagship. She was the fifth Duke-class Type 23 frigate to be launched for the Royal Navy, at a cost of £140 million. [28] Her secondary guns were removed and used for coastal defence around the base. [28] While en route, the ship stopped in Constantinople on 7 April. HMS Iron Duke (1912) was the name-ship of a class of battleships, launched in 1912 and sold in 1946 for scrap. Then March 1941 through Aden to Mombassa and Trimcomalee for refit in Colombo. It is a routine deployment known as Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South). [28] In 1927, the Navy considered adding anti-torpedo bulges to Iron Duke and her sister ships, but the plan was discarded because the ships were due to be replaced in 1931–1932 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the plan was not economical. The new radar replaces the Type 996 surveillance radar. [3] On 29 July 1914, as war loomed on the Continent, Iron Duke and the rest of the Home Fleet was ordered to proceed to Scapa Flow from Portland to safeguard the fleet from a possible German surprise attack. HMS Iron Duke is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the third ship to bear the name. 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