HMS Lancaster (F229)

HMS Lancaster is a 'Duke' class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is known as "The Queen's Frigate", the Duke of Lancaster being an honorary title of the Sovereign. She is also known as The Red Rose Frigate, after the emblem of Lancashire.

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 one of the only two remaining airworthy Avro Lancaster bombers part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight based at RAF Coningsby.

Operational history
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 began a major refit at Portsmouth; she will return to sea in early 2012 but is not due on active service until Spring 2013. The £17.9m contract covers 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 kn, the caption of an official Navy photo suggests that Lancaster was capable of 32 kn even before her mid-life refit; the transom flap can add up to 1 kn to the top speed of a Type 23, and the Intersleek anti-fouling paint added 2 kn to the top speed of Ark Royal.

In July to August 2013, she is on a counter-narcotics mission in the Caribbean, seizing a massive 680 kg stash of cocaine with an estimated street value of £100 million after sailors boarded a speedboat near Puerto Rico.

Affiliations

 * HM The Queen, The Duke of Lancaster
 * The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border)
 * The Lancashire Army Cadet Force
 * City of Lancaster
 * Duchy of Lancaster
 * Adjutant General's Corps
 * Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry
 * Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
 * Worshipful Company of Feltmakers
 * University of Lancaster
 * Morecambe and Lancaster Sea Cadet Corps (TS Lancaster)
 * Preston Sea Cadet Corps (TS Galloway)
 * The Worshipful Company of Constructors