Type 23 frigate

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Image:HMS Richmond F239 (Type 23 class frigate).jpg

The Type 23 frigate is a class of warship serving with the Royal Navy, also known as the Duke class. Sixteen have been built, with the final vessel, HMS St Albans (F83) launched in May 2000. These ships currently comprise around half of the entire surface escort fleet of the Royal Navy.

The Type 23 was initially conceived as a cheap and simple anti-submarine warfare platform, with a Lynx or EH-101 Merlin helicopter and a towed-array sonar, intended to replace the frigates of the Leander class. They were to hunt and destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic, and it was even proposed initially that they would not mount anti-aircraft missiles. Instead the Sea Wolf missile system was to be carried by the Fort class replenishment ship, one of which was to support typically four Type 23s, providing servicing facilities for the force's helicopters. The Type 23 would have facilities for rearming and refuelling only. As a result of lessons learnt from the Falklands War, the design grew in size and complexity to encompass a medium calibre gun for shore bombardment, and Sea Wolf as a defence against sea-skimming anti-ship missiles such as Exocet. With the addition of Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles, the Type 23 had evolved into a complex and balanced warship which introduced a host of new technologies and concepts to the Royal Navy, including: extensive radar signature reduction design measures, automisation to substantially reduce crew size, a CODLAG (Combined Diesel-electric and Gas) propulsion system providing very quiet running for ASW operations and an excellent range, and - after a false start - a fully-distributed combat management system. As a result they have proven to be excellent ships, despite the fact that the highly specialised role for which they were intended disappeared just as the first examples were entering service.

HMS Norfolk (F230) was the first of the class to enter service, commissioned into the Fleet on June 1, 1990 at a cost of £135.449 million. Later vessels cost £60-96 million. The annual costs of running a Type 23 is around £16 million.

On July 21 2004, in a review of defence spending, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced HMS Norfolk, HMS Marlborough (F233) and HMS Grafton (F80) were to be paid off. In 2005 it was announced that the three vessels would be sold to the Chilean Navy, to be delivered in 2008. In September 2005 BAE Systems was awarded a £134 million contract to prepare the frigates for transfer.

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Specifications

Length: 133m (436.2ft)

Beam: 16.1m (52.8ft)

Displacement: 4,900 tonnes fl

Crew: 185

Power: CODLAG (Combined Diesel-electric and Gas). Two Rolls-Royce Spey 34,000hp (25MW) gas turbines; two Alstom 1.5MW electric motors.

Speed: 28kts (52km/h) maximum. 12,500km at 15kts (28km/h)

Weapons:

2 x quad Harpoon missile launchers
VLS GWS 26 Mod 1 Sea Wolf SAM system
1-4.5in (114mm) Vickers Mk 8 gun (all ships being upgraded with the Mod 1)
2 x Oerlikon 30 mm guns. Being upgraded to remote control with electro-optic director
4 Cray Marine 324mm (2 Twin) TT. Marconi Stingray.
NATO Seagnat, Type 182 and DLF3 decoy launchers

Aircraft: Westland Lynx HM8 helicopter, or Merlin HM.1

Armament:
- Sea Skua missiles (Lynx only)
- Stingray torpedoes
- depth charges

Sensors:

Air/surface Search: BAE Systems Type 996, 3D
Navigation: Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 or Racal Decca Type 1008
Fire control: 2 BAE Systems Type 911
Bow sonar: Thales Underwater Systems Type 2050
Towed sonar: Ultra Electronics Type 2031Z, being replaced by Type 2087 in eight ships

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Ships

Name	Pennant	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Home port	Status
HMS Norfolk	F230	YSL, Glasgow	July 11, 1987	November 24, 1989	Devonport	Sold to Chilean Navy
HMS Argyll	F231	YSL	April 8, 1989	May 30, 1991	Devonport	Active
HMS Lancaster	F229	YSL	May 24, 1990	May 1, 1991	Portsmouth	Active
HMS Marlborough	F233	Swan Hunter , Wallsend	January 21, 1991	June 14, 1991	Portsmouth	Sold to Chilean Navy
HMS Iron Duke	F234	YSL	March 2, 1991	May 30, 1991	Portsmouth	Active
HMS Monmouth	F235	YSL	November 23, 1991	1993	Devonport	Active
HMS Montrose	F236	YSL	July 31, 1992	June 2, 1994	Devonport	Active
HMS Westminster	F237	Swan Hunter	February 9, 1992	1993	Portsmouth	Active
HMS Northumberland	F238	Swan Hunter	April 1992	May 1994	Devonport	Active
HMS Richmond	F239	Swan Hunter	April 6, 1993	October 1996	Portsmouth	Active
HMS Somerset	F82	YSL	June 24, 1994	September 20, 1996	Devonport	Active
HMS Grafton	F80	YSL	November 5, 1994	May 1997	Portsmouth	Sold to Chilean Navy
HMS Sutherland	F81	YSL	March 9, 1996	July 4, 1997	Devonport	Active
HMS Kent	F78	YSL	May 28, 1998	February 2000	Portsmouth	Active
HMS Portland	F79	Marconi Marine (YSL)	December 15, 2000	May 3, 2001	Devonport	Active
HMS St Albans	F83	BAE Systems Marine (YSL)	May 6, 2000	November 2001	Portsmouth	Active

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Fictional Type 23 frigates

HMS Westminster was used for the Type 23 interior shots in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies in three different roles as HMS Chester, HMS Devonshire and HMS Bedford. For the exterior shots a Type 23 model was constructed.
The ITV series Making Waves was set aboard the Type 23 frigate HMS Suffolk (which was portrayed by HMS Grafton).