Portsmouth honours naval commander for her unflinching leadership in the face of Russian aggression

And now Commander Eleanor Stack, commanding officer of HMS Duncan, has been honoured by The News for her inspirational leadership.

It comes after the experienced naval officer led the Portsmouth-based ship and 280-strong crew through a hair-raising deployment in the Black Sea in early 2018.

The £1bn vessel was swarmed by 17 Russian warplanes as she sailed just a few miles off the coast of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Then, just weeks later, Cdr Stack and her crew were tasked with protecting a naval task force during a missile strike on Syrian chemical weapons factories.

On both occasions, Cdr Stack's calm and decisive leadership helped guide Duncan through a challenging deployment.

The efforts of herself and her crew '“ captured by a Channel 5 documentary team '“ also garnered praise from defence secretary Gavin Williamson.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: '˜We are delighted the people of Portsmouth have recognised the efforts of Commander Stack during her time in command of HMS Duncan, and especially on Nato duties.

'˜As millions of viewers of Channel 5's Warship: Life at Sea will have seen, HMS Duncan's deployment was long, challenging, demanding and, at times, unprecedented.

'˜An award for Commander Stack is very much an award for all her ship's company '“ the Royal Navy is a team effort and, as we saw in Warship, HMS Duncan's team were at the very top of their game throughout.'