HMS Duncan

Not to be confused with the many other Royal Navy Duncans.

## HMS Duncan (D37)

Duncan

**HMS *Duncan*** is the sixth and last of the Type 45 or *Daring*-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy and launched in 2010. *Duncan* is named after Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan (1 July 1731 – 4 August 1804), who defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797. The destroyer has served in the Mediterranean, Black, and Caribbean Seas, and in 2019 was deployed to the Persian Gulf in response to increased tensions with Iran in the region.

### Characteristics

In 2014, the Royal Navy website stated that *Duncan* would be the first Type 45 destroyer to be armed with the Harpoon antiship missile system. On 2 March 2015, *Duncan* left Portsmouth armed with Harpoon antiship missiles.

### Construction

*Duncan*'s construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships (now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships) yards at Govan and Scotstoun on the River Clyde in 2006. She was launched from Govan on 11 October 2010, on the 213th anniversary of the Battle of Camperdown.

*Duncan* sailed from Scotstoun shipyard, Glasgow, on 31 August 2012 to commence sea trials.

### Operational Service

*Duncan*, the sixth and last Type 45 destroyer, was commissioned on 26 September 2013. She entered service on 30 December 2013, four months ahead of schedule, after a period of trials and training.

On 2 March 2015, *Duncan* left HMNB Portsmouth on her maiden deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East. On 7 July 2015, *Duncan* joined up with the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group Twelve to strike the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

In April 2016, HMS *Duncan* was one of several Royal Navy ships exercising with the French Navy in Exercise Griffin Strike. In October 2016, *Duncan*, escorted by the frigate HMS *Richmond*, was dispatched by the Ministry of Defence to intercept and "man-mark" a fleet of Russian Navy vessels, including their flagship *Admiral Kuznetsov*, which was passing through the English Channel on its way to Syria. In November, while sailing off the coast of England, *Duncan* suffered a total propulsion failure and was towed back to Plymouth.

*Duncan* sailed from Portsmouth in June 2017 to assume the role of flagship of NATO's Standing Maritime Naval Group 2 (SNMG2), operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. *Duncan* was due to be relieved in September 2017 by HMS *Ocean* on her final deployment, but *Ocean* was redeployed to the Caribbean Sea to provide relief to British Overseas Territories in the region in the wake of Hurricane Irma. *Duncan* was instead relieved by HMS *Diamond*, which was berthed in Gibraltar en route to the Persian Gulf to relieve HMS *Monmouth*. *Duncan* returned to Portsmouth on 22 September 2017.

She resumed NATO duties in January 2018, visiting Mediterranean and Black Sea ports such as Constanța, Souda Bay, and Split, and again took command of SNMG2, returning to Portsmouth on 13 July 2018. In November and December 2018, *Duncan* featured in the first series of the Channel 5 television documentary *Warship: Life at Sea*, which captured everyday life on board the vessel during her NATO deployment earlier that year, including confrontations with Russian warships and aircraft, including the *Admiral Essen*. On the programme, the ship's crew frequently claimed that *Duncan* can detect a "tennis ball-sized object moving at three times the speed of sound, from over 100 miles away."

In December 2018, *Duncan* was announced to be affiliated with the town of Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast.

In July 2019, *Duncan* visited Odesa harbour in Ukraine. On 12 July 2019, she was ordered to the Persian Gulf in response to threats against British shipping by Iran. On arrival, she joined with the frigate HMS *Montrose* in protecting cargo vessels and oil tankers. This deployment featured in the second series of the *Warship: Life at Sea* television documentary.

In September 2019, *Duncan* returned to her home base at Portsmouth for a refit. By July 2021, Duncan’s refit was complete and she was back at sea by May 2022.

In February 2023, *Duncan* joined Orion23, France's largest-ever military exercise, held in the light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In March 2023, *Duncan* was reported fit with Harpoon anti-ship missiles for the first time in several years.

In late June 2023, *Duncan* departed HMNB Portsmouth for a six-month deployment; the first since she underwent a major overhaul. She became the flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in July.

In August 2023, HMS Duncan was leading a minefield exercise in the Mediterranean.