three ships of the british royal navy have been named hms iron duke  after the 1st duke of wellington, nicknamed the "iron duke". the name is also a pun, as the first ship so named was an ironclad. * hms iron duke (1870) was a battleship launched in 1870, paid off in 1893, converted to as a coal hulk, and sold 1906 for scrap * hms iron duke (1912) was the name-ship of a class of battleships, launched in 1912 and sold in 1946 for scrap. she is most famous for being the fleet flagship at the battle of jutland * hms iron duke (f234) is a type 23 frigate launched in 1991 see also: * hms duke of wellington (1852), other ships named after the first duke of wellington   
Royal_Navy_ship_names Set_indices_on_ships