HMS Lancaster (F229)

	HMS Lancaster in the Caribbean Sea during 2013
History
United Kingdom
Name	Lancaster
Ordered	September 1986
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down	18 December 1987
Launched	24 May 1990
Sponsored by	Queen Elizabeth II
Commissioned	1 May 1992
Refit	Major 2010–2012, LIFEX 2017–2019
Homeport	HMNB Portsmouth (forward deployed to HMS Jufair)
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)
Length	133 m (436 ft 4 in)
Beam	16.1 m (52 ft 10 in)
Draught	7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	CODLAG:; Four 1,510 kW (2,020 shp) Paxman Valenta 12CM diesel generators; Two GEC electric motors delivering 2,980 kW (4,000 shp); Two Rolls-Royce Spey SM1C delivering 23,190 kW (31,100 shp);
Speed	In excess of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	7,500 nmi (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
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 GWS 35 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for:; 32 × Sea Ceptor missiles (1–25+ km); Anti-ship missiles:; 2 × quad Harpoon launchers (8 × missiles); 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 × 30 mm DS30M Mk2 guns, or, 2 × 30 mm DS30B guns; Browning heavy machine guns; 2 × Miniguns (may be retired as of 2023); 4 × General-purpose machine gun;
Aircraft carried	1 × Wildcat HMA2, armed with:; 4 × Sea Venom anti-ship missiles (projected full operating capability from 2026), or; 2 × Sting Ray anti-submarine torpedoes, or; 20 × Martlet multirole air-surface missiles (from 2021); Mk 11 depth charges; or; 1 × Westland Merlin HM2, 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, launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 May 1990. The ship 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 noted that the 232 is the Royal Navy report form for groundings and collisions and therefore considered unlucky. She is one of the few ships left in the fleet with some female officers but mess decks which 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.

The ship, like her sisters HMS Monmouth, HMS Montrose, HMS Iron Duke and HMS Argyll, did not receive the new Sonar 2087 upgrade that other frigates of the class subsequently received. Therefore she is regarded as a "general purpose" frigate without the more specialized anti-submarine capability of the other eight ships in the Type 23 fleet.

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