New Frigate for the Royal Navy

Plymouth Naval Base will take delivery of the Navy's newest Type 23 frigate on Friday 15 December. HMS Portland will join the 6th Frigate Squadron based in Devonport. The ship, built by BAE Systems, arrived from the Clyde having completed her Final Machinery Demonstration and Delivery Voyage. HMS Portland is the ninth ship to bear the Portland name and the fifteenth Type 23 frigate. She was built by BAE Systems at Scotstoun on the Clyde.

Type 23 Class – HMS Norfolk

The ship has an overall length of 133 metres, a beam of 16.2 metres and a standard displacement of 3500 tonnes. The Type 23 is optimised to produce a ship capable of silent running, such that it would be undetectable to the submarine it was hunting. Two GEC electric motors, powered by a combination of 4 Paxman Valenta diesel generators, enable the ships to run quietly at slow speeds making them extremely hard to detect, whilst optimising the capability of the their own underwater sensors. When required, higher speeds in excess of 28 knots are achieved by clutching in two Rolls Royce Spey jet engines. This ability to combine the benefits of diesel electric and gas turbine power is unique to the Type 23 frigate and provides flexible, quiet and highly efficient propulsion.

HMS Portland is one of the most advanced ships in the Navy, carrying an array of weapons and sensors. These include Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Stringray torpedoes, Vertical Launched Seawolf anti-air missiles and a 4.5 inch gun. She will initially carry a Lynx helicopter.