Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: budden@manta.nosc.mil (Rex A. Buddenberg)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Naval vessel naming conventions
Message-ID: <11146@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 6 Nov 89 05:03:03 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
Lines: 64
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: budden@manta.nosc.mil (Rex A. Buddenberg)

In recent years, the Navy has taken up what I, as a sailor, consider
a rather bad habit of naming ships (regardless of class) for
people that send them budget money (Vinson) or the state that said
benefactor is from (Michigan).  Consequently, the ordering you
described has all gone by the wayside in the grey fleet.

On the other hand...
WHEC-378 class of high endurance cutters were named after Treasury
Secretaries (long standing tradition) until USCG got traded out
of Treasury for a to-be-named draft choice.  First ship in the
class is Hamilton, after Alexander.  Couple of the last are Munro
(USCG's Medal of Honor (posthumous) winner in WWII), and Midgett
after one of the clan in Carolina.

WMEC-210 class all have highfalutin' adjectives attached: Reliance,
Confidence, Dilligence, Vigorous, Vigilant,...

WMEC-270 -- our newest white ships -- are re-used famous cutter
names like Campbell, Tampa, Harriet Lane, Bear.

WPB-82 class of patrol boats are named after Points of land:
Point Countess, Point Glass, Point Doran.  WPB-95 class after
capes: Cape Upright, Cape Henlopen.  The currently building class
of 110' WPBs are being named after islands: Attu, Acquidneck.
The next generation of WPB is referred to as the Heritage Class,
but I've not heard any specific hull names as yet.

To the black fleet.  WLB-180 buoy tenders are a biology lesson:
Iris, Blackhaw, Mallow, Blackthorn.  A sub-class of 3 WLB-157s
have the names they had when we inherited them from USLHS: Fir,
Walnut. [?].  WLM-157s are White Alder, White Holly, White ___.
RFPs for the replacement class of tenders for these (mostly
WWII vets) goes on the street next year.  To my knowledge,
names have not been selected.

The 65 foot buoy boats are the smallest class of commissioned cutters
(permanent crew).  Here, we get to the berries: Bayberry, Elderberry.

Perhaps most interesting for last: Icebreakers.  The Wind
class were to be originally four: Northwind, Southwind, Eastwind,
Westwind.  Three of the original hulls were Lend-Leased to USSR.
The original Northwind was named Severny Viinter (North Wind) by
the Soviets.  Coast Guard then replaced the three LL'd hulls
with three more and the names were re-used.  After the war, the
ships were returned...to the Navy.  USS Northwind and USCGC Northwind
didn't work very well, so the 'original' got renamed USS Staten Island
(after Isle de los Etados -- look at the far south end of the
Sourth American cone).  In the mid-60s, the Navy's icebreakers were
returned to the Coast Guard -- they operated much more efficiently
when all in one service.
     Glacier was built in early 50's -- name obvious.
     In the late 60s, CG was planning a class of four icebreakers of
the Polar class.  Ultimately, only two got built: Polar Star and
Polar Sea.

Now, is there a lesson here?  If we did start naming cutters after
congressmen, would we get any better budget treatment?


Rex Buddenberg