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A woman yesterday took command of a frontline warship for the first time in the Navy’s 500-year history.

Commander Sarah West, 40, is now in sole control of HMS Portland, a Type 23 frigate and its mostly male crew of 185.

And it could be just the start as senior Navy sources said last night that three more war vessels will be commanded by women by the end of this year.

Cmdr West will have her own cabin and steward on HMS Portland, but will dine alone each night unless invited to join other officers.

She joined the Navy in 1995 with a degree in maths.

After training as a warfare officer, she served on HMS ­Sheffield in the Middle East and joined the task force that dramatically helped in the evacuation of thousands of Britons from Beirut in 2006.

(Image: MOD)

Cmdr West, who is single and lives in Middlesex, has also captained four minehunters.

She said yesterday: “Taking command of HMS Portland is definitely the highlight of my 16 years in the Navy.

“It is a challenge that I am fully ready to undertake. I am proud to be taking command of a Type 23 frigate, which is an extremely flexible warship.

"I’m looking forward to taking her on operations with a professional and focused team.”

The frigate is currently having a refit in Britain’s largest dockyard in Rosyth.

Once this has been completed, she will take part in a series of trials before returning to her base at Devonport by the end of the year.

Cmdr West has also worked at the high-security Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, Middlesex, where she helped co-ordinate UK operations in the Gulf. Her time commanding the minehunter HMS Pembroke, included an eight-month ­deployment in the Middle East..

Cmdr West’s appointment marks a historic chapter for the Senior Service, which was founded in the reign of Henry VIII.

The Navy first allowed women to go to sea in 1990, and it now has 620 female officers with others becoming pilots, observers and mine clearance divers.

Wrens also make up 10% of an average warship crew.

(Image: PA)

In December last year, it was announced that women will join their male counterparts in submarines from 2013.

In another milestone for the Navy, Cmdr Sue Moore, 43, recently became the first woman to command a squadron of minor war vessels, the First Patrol Boat Squadron, based in Portsmouth.

Cmdr Moore, from Bath, and Cmdr West have been described as being part of a “cohort of talented female officers” who joined the Navy to serve at sea and are now undertaking or approaching key appointments in their naval careers.

Cmdr Moore has 14 P2000 Archer class training vessels under her command and two will be part of the Honour Guard during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames.

She said: “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my squadron to provide close support to Her Majesty the Queen during the forthcoming River Pageant.”

In addition to Cmdr West commanding HMS Portland, the MoD said it expects three minor war vessels will be commanded by females by December.