Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military From: terryr@ogccse.ogc.edu (Terry Rooker) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Naval vessel naming conventions Message-ID: <11114@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 4 Nov 89 04:11:35 GMT References: <11070@cbnews.ATT.COM> Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: Oregon Graduate Center, Beaverton, OR Lines: 36 Approved: military@att.att.com From: terryr@ogccse.ogc.edu (Terry Rooker) Unfortunately, ships are now named by political expediency. For ships named after people, it is a *rule* that they have to be dead. A rule that has been violated twice (I think). The Reeves was originally a DLG (a large destroyer) and so was named after a person. Carriers of the Nimitz class are now named after famous Americans; Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Vinson(?!?!?!?). The new Aegis cruisers are named for famous battles, but so are some amphibious warfar ships. Subs are no longer named after sea creatures. SSBN's are named after famous people and states for the Tridents. SSN's are named after cities. Some new subs, such as the Henry Jackson, don't follow this pattern. Destryers are still being named after naval heroes. Amphibs are now named after landmarks (usually a city but not always), famous battles, and famous ships (mainly carriers). Auxiliaries still follow the old paterns with some exceptions. Tenders are now named after famous people (although sub tenders always were named after famous submarine people). Ammo ships have explosive names. Tankers have indian names. Some supply ships are named after cities. Basically there is a convention for all ship names, but the conventions have changed with time. Since ships now last 30-40 years, so I imagine the confusion will only get worse. Political expediency is slowly predomintating the process. The Vinson, Rickover, and Jackson (Henry) were all named solely for political reasons. As budget battles bocome more heated, it will only get worse. -- Terry Rooker terryr@cse.ogc.edu