HMS Lancaster (F229)

HMS Lancaster in the Caribbean Sea during 2013
History
UK
Name:	HMS Lancaster
Operator:	Royal Navy
Ordered:	September 1986
Builder:	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down:	18 December 1987
Launched:	24 May 1990
Sponsored by:	Queen Elizabeth II
Commissioned:	1 May 1992
Homeport:	HMNB Portsmouth
Nickname(s):	The Queen's Frigate, The Red Rose Frigate
Status:	in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type 23 Frigate
Displacement:	4,900 t (4,800 long tons; 5,400 short tons)
Length:	133 m (436 ft 4 in)
Beam:	16.1 m (52 ft 10 in)
Draught:	7.3 m (23 ft 9 in)
Propulsion:	CODLAG: Four 1510 kW (2,025 shp) Paxman Valenta 12CM diesel generators Two GEC electric motors delivering 2980kW (4000 shp) Two Rolls-Royce Spey SM1C delivering 23,190 kW (31,100 shp)
Speed:	In excess of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range:	7,500 nautical miles (14,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement:	185 (accommodation for up to 205)
Electronic warfare & decoys:	UAF-1 ESM, or, UAT Mod 1 Seagnat Type 182 towed torpedo decoy Surface Ship Torpedo Defence
Armament:	Anti-air missiles: 1 × 32-cell Sea Wolf GWS.26 VLS canisters for 32: Sea Wolf missiles (range 1-10 km) Anti-ship missiles: 2 × quad Harpoon launchers Anti-submarine torpedoes: 2 × Twin 12.75 in (324 mm) Sting Ray torpedo tubes Guns: 1 × BAE 4.5 inch Mk 8 naval gun 2 × 30mm DS30M Mk2 guns, or, 2× 30mm DS30B guns 2 × Miniguns 4 × General purpose machine guns
Aircraft carried:	1 × Lynx HMA8, armed with; 4 × Sea Skua anti ship missiles, or 2 × anti submarine torpedoes or 1 × Westland Merlin HM1, armed with; 4 × anti submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilities:	Flight deck Enclosed hangar

HMS Lancaster is a Duke class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 May 1990 and is known as "The Queen's Frigate", the Duke of Lancaster being a subsidiary title of the Sovereign. Being the third ship in the Type 23 class, Lancaster was originally allocated the pennant number F232 until it was realised that the 232 is the Royal Navy report form for groundings and collisions and therefore considered unlucky. She is one of the few stag ships left in the fleet, she has some female officers but the mess decks are men-only. It is quite common when she has returned from long operations that she is flown over by the Avro Lancaster bomber which is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight based at RAF Coningsby.

Lancaster has been involved in anti-drug operations in the Caribbean, but also delivered Vice Admiral Adrian Johns in 2009 to his new post as Governor of Gibraltar. In February 2010 Lancaster was deployed in waters off the Horn of Africa as part of Combined Task Force 150, tackling piracy, drug-running, people trafficking, arms smuggling, and other criminal and terrorist threats.

In September 2010 Lancaster entered refit in Portsmouth.

Lancaster returned to sea in early 2012 and returned to active service in Spring 2013. The £17.9m contract covered upgrades to communications, the Sea Wolf and command systems, the installation of a 30mm remote-operated gun and a transom flap. Both shafts were replaced, four refurbished diesel generators installed and new paint applied to the hull. The accommodation, galley and dining halls were all refurbished at the same time. Half the crew returned to the ship in October 2011, under the command of Lt Cdr Charlie Guy until Cdr Steve Moorhouse takes over in November 2011. Although the top speed of the Duke class is commonly quoted as 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), the caption of an official Navy photo suggests that Lancaster was capable of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) even before her mid-life refit; the transom flap can add up to 1 knot (1.9 km/h; 1.2 mph) to the top speed of a Type 23, and the Intersleek anti-fouling paint added 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) to the top speed of Ark Royal.