The Type 23 Frigate is the backbone of the Royal Navy’s fleet, with 13 ships currently in service (three having been sold to the Chilean Navy). Each vessel is fitted with a range of sophisticated electronics including Plessey Type 996(I) radar and Ferranti/Thomson Sintra Type 2050 sonar.

Walton’s pneumatic and electrically operated valves are installed on the chiller and oil cooler systems of these ships, and also their diesel generators. In all applications they regulate the temperature of this vital equipment.

The final vessel of the class, H.M.S. St Albans, was commissioned in June 2002 and shares its name with the home of the Walton valve.