Carrier Names

[theundisputedtopgun]

Any ideas on what the 2 new carriers will be called? Will one be Ark Royal?

[zalt]

I hope so ... and Eagle perhaps?

[Archimedes]

Mmm. Hard to say. I seem to recall someone stating that, stricitly speaking, a major ship like a carrier ought to be named after the monarch - the CVA 01 was meant to be called the Queen Elizabeth; CVA 02 would have been the Duke of Edinburgh (although some sources say that this is speculation, I've seen the minutes of the Admiralty meeting that decided this).

The current Ark was meant to be called Indomitable but was renamed partly as a result of public opinion after the Sailor programme; I guess that the name might be in with a chance. Traditional carrier names like Hermes and Eagle ought to be possibilities, and - bluff old traditionalist that I am - I'd like to think that Furious , Courageous and Glorious would at least get considered.

However, as long as we don't get some attempt at pandering to popular sentiment with HMS Posh and HMS Becks...

[Rattus]

According to a normally well-informed source, Eagle and Hermes are favourites.

[maninblack]

Don't forget the power of the Daily Mail and it's little coven of Blue Rinse Nazis. I'm sure they will push for HMS Diana.

Sadly this is not meant to be a joke.

[tony draper]

Whats wrong with Henry V, for one of them,? I believe he had some dealing with the folks who are going to build the Carriers. ;)

[pulse1]

When George Robertson (now Lord) was Defence Secretary he was filmed suggesting that we should learn from the French and call any new carrier the "HMS Gordon Brown". This would ensure a rapid introduction into service with adequate funding.

[MightyGem]

I was simply going to say "How about Argus", but then I got a message saying that replies of less then 20 words were taking up excessive bandwidth or something and I should make my reply worthwhile.

So, how about Argus?

[Jimlad]

HMS Tony Blair?

Unfortunately there has already been an HMS Diana, a "D" Class destroyer in the 1950's. Seeing as the new Type 45's a known as the D class as well, I can imagine the Mails Nazi legions demanding Diana to show our respect for a blonde bimbo who cheated on her husband and died cos she didnt wear her seatbelt. Nelson must be turning in his grave...

[Vick Van Guard]

Any ideas on what the 2 new carriers will be called?

How about late and over budget? :D

[RubiC Cube]

Given that we can't use HMS Concord(e), how about HMS Entente Cordiale?

[DuckDogers]

As Aircraft Carriers are now the Capital Ships of modern Navies and Battle Ships have gone the way of the dinosaurs how about the following;

HMS Agamemnon (http://www.naval-art.com/hms_agamemnon.htm)

and

HMS AJAX

[ORAC]

HMS Devastation or HMS Thunderer? :D

[steamchicken]

As far as traditional carrier names go - what about HMSs Illustrious and Victorious? Or Formidable? Winston Churchill wanted to call the Queen Elizabeths some interesting ones - Oliver Cromwell, William Pitt et al. Renown? Rodney?

[Vortexadminman]

Good one Vic like that.

[Archimedes]

Victorious will probably still be in use as one of the SSBNs?

HMS Pitt was proposed, but rejected by the King on the grounds that 'sailors being as they are' {his words, not mine!}, HMS Pitt was likely to be known as something else...

[zalt]

Rattus
The return of HMS Herpes? Sounds like a lot of Bulwarks to me!

Seriously I think you (and ic) are right! Always has a soft spot for the old 'Rusty B' though.

[Capt Homesick]

How about Temeraire?

[ORAC]

That's fighting talk! :D

[Jimlad]

Temeraire is the name of the RN PT school in Pompey.

Bulwark is currently fitting out on the Clyde as a new Albion Class assualt ship.

[gravity victim]

ELDERLY JOKE ALERT

Afflicted matelot to doctor;

" I think I've got Hermes, Doc."

Doctor (stifling smile)
" I think you mean herpes, don't you?"

Matelot; "No, I'm a carrier."

BOOM BOOM!

;)

[zalt]

Jimlad: Albion & Bulwark - shows you I'm out of touch! I'd have assumed they would have taken the old LPD names, but I suppose there must be a decent period between a warship paying-off and the name being reused.

Are they on time & budget per chance?

[Jimlad]

No - they're being built by British Waste of Space, so what do you expect - quality kit, on time on budget? Give CVF to Thales and let BAE suffer for its mistakes.

The only stuff thats on time is stuff that isn't built by BAE - look at the Future Offshore Patrol Vessel, contract signed mid 2001, one vessel in service, one being fitted out and one about to launch - also built by Vopsers which has nowt to do with BAE thank god.

[zalt]

Jimlad

Waste of space? No, no surely not! You must mean BAE CISTERN the well known US (in every sense of the word) 'platform integrator', run by Fat Controller Sir Dick, currently being shunted onto some peaceful sidings just outside of Blackpool.

[A Civilian]

I like the name Dreadnought myself, the first of a new fleet.

[Oscar Duece]

Well I would like to see 'HMS Hermes & HMS Eagle' afloat again.

But if it should reflect the state of our nation, how about 'HMS Hope & HMS Charity'

Or Mr Brown may try to offset the costs and we could get ' HMS Vodaphone & HMS Tesco'

Mr Blaire would be more concerned with the HMS bit and try to come up with some Euro thing.
Then again our poverty may come to the fore and Blaire will be on phone to Bush (his boss) asking if the lend lease deal thing is still valid.

God save the senior service (cos the government won't)

[TicketyBoo]

If we're being nice to the Europeans, why not "Tirpitz" or "Prinz Eugen"?

Personally, I think I am right in saying we have not yet had an HMS TicketyBoo; this could be an ideal opportunity to remedy this!

[PETERJ]

Well

HMS Cherie and HMS Tony might be worth a bet but surely HMS Entente and HMS Cordiale have to be fron runners now! What is William Hill saying ?

Disgruntled Cydesider

[Rattus]

May I be permitted to qualify my earlier post?
The names have been allocated to the feasibility studies. The ships (like their CVA predecessors) will, of course, not be built.

[ZK-NSJ]

hms norfolk island rock

[polyglory]

HMS Centaur and HMS Eagle for me:)

[MilOps]

Considering that the things could be built by Thales, instead of BWoS, how about HMS Asterix and HMS Obelix!

I am a fan of the names given to battle ships though, so how about 'Renown', Prince of Wales' and 'Royal Oak' et al.

[Jimlad]

AIUI names such as Royal Oak and Prince of Wales won't be used again out of respect for those lost. I stand ready to be corrected though.

Also I firmyl believe we will see CVF, too much political capital has been invested in it to cancel it, and it will offer a huge improvement to the UK's military capability. Roll on CVF i say.

[akula]

who really cares surely the name is only an attempt to make a potent weapon of war more acceptable to the public in general.



ALWAYS assume NEVER check

[Fire 'n' Forget]

Well if we continue to use them the way we use HMS Ark Royal etc at the moment why dont we call them.............RAF Invincible , Ark Royal :rolleyes:

[Waddock Hunt]

..errr Surely by the time they are in service HMS President Blair (Or will it be HP S President Blair - will be the only option.

[ZK-NSJ]

hms delboy and hms rodney

or

hms arthur and hms terry

[FishHead]

Be fair ZK - it was a rock off Lord Howe Island, not Norfolk (LHI being a much smaller thing-ie on the navigation chart)

FH

[SirPercyWare-Armitag]

Liked the post ref HMS President Blair but I am not sure whether they use peoples names for ships?????
What about HMS Iron Lady to counter HMS Pres Blair?

[scfriuwr]

How about HMS Ascension and HMS Diego Garcia? Manoeuverable versions of their island namesakes. ;)

[MaxAOB]

HMS Hughjardon and HMS Hughjorgan i hear are the current favourites in these pc times!

;) :) :D :) ;)

[timzsta]

It is rumoured they will be named after those who will decide where and when they will deploy: HMS Tony Blair and
HMS George Bush Jnr

[Waddock Hunt]

HMS Bodgit & HMS Leggit ????
(Or what ever similar French surnames would fit the bill!!!!)

(Bouguet et Leeguite????)

[Studly]

Only a thought, but all those stuffy old names, maybe HMS Cheri would work?

[SASless]

All this assumes the two new carriers will be British.....way things seem to be going in the UK Military.....the Kiwi's will have more use for them....they at least are willing to take a stand on something.....and will admit they want someone else to do the fighting for them.

[henry crun]

SASless: If you had made that remark about Helen Clark and her cohorts in cabinet, I, and the majority of Kiwis, would wholeheartedly agree with you.

But to tar us all with the same brush is not warranted.

It would be the same as me blaming you and all Brits for some of the decisions made by your government.
After reading these forums for some while there seems to be plenty to choose from.

[stoutfella]

Some interesting "ideas" but the Ships' Names Committee has never been driven by logic or anything remotely historical! At least two of the good carrier names have gone to subs - Victorious and Courageous - and, as has been rightly pointed out, Albion and Bulwark are the new LPD(R)s. The only 2 true "Fleet" carriers we had were Ark Royal and Eagle. The others were "Light Fleets". I wouldn't mind betting on Eagle as one of the names but the other is anyone's guess - will the current Ark Royal still be around when CVF02 is launched? (to enter service in 2015). Hermes is another favourite of mine - she really was Happy Hermes in the good old fixed-wing days (yes I'm that old!).

[BlueWolf]

Well said, Mr Crun.

That was rather in the teeth, SASless. 73% of NZ was opposed to scrapping the FJ fleet, and a good many of us are busting a gut to bring it back. Unfortunately our somewhat perverse "democratic" system affords absolute power to a party enjoying the support of only four New Zealanders in every ten.

On the topic; how about "HMS There's Life In The Old Bulldog Yet" and "HMS Empire May Be Gone, But Don't Take The P1ss"?

It is about force projection, after all....isn't it?

[maxburner]

My vote goes to ''Agincourt'' and ''Waterloo''. We MUST remember who the REAL enemy is.

[Waddock Hunt]

or what about HMS Norton & HMS Winton... Hello Sailor!!!!

[Biggus]

How about HMS Hope and HMS Glory..... as in "land of....."

[ORAC]

In which case, how about HMS Perfidious and HMS Albion. :D

[Capt Homesick]

Ok, if Temeraire is in use for a shore base, is Agamemnon available? Failing that, I'd go for any of the name's of Nelson's ships.
I liked Eagle too- how about Lion for the other one? Don't know if it's been used since Beatty's battlecruiser in World War One.

[Jackonicko]

If it's not Eagle and Hermes, then Tiger (OK never a carrier but what a ship!) and Warrior, or Venerable, Vengeance, Theseus, Ocean, and Glory....

[pzu]

Gentlemen (& Ladies)

Whilst realising that it may be "politically incorrect":) :( , may I offer "HMS TARANTO" for consideration
:D :D :D

[Matt Skrossa]

Surely we should retain the trend started by the current class of CVS- Invincible and Illustrious and have names with either IN or ILL as a prefix. We could have HMS INDECISIVE (Reference to the Ops Room or Bridge) HMS ILLEGITIMATE (Over half the crew are normally complete ba****s!). Or maybe HMS INFINITY (The amount of cash required to fund the project) HMS ILLUSION (Looks good, but in reality just a complete sham). How about HMS GINORMOUS and HMS GINAGOROUS, slightly silly, but will look fantastic on the jolly jack tar's cap tallies! My preference would be HMS DISCRETE, so when a crew member was asked which ship he or she was on they could reply 'I'm in discrete'.

[Gainesy]

HMS Bigfloatytargetthingy

[Dop]

HMS Troutbridge.

Get the captain of the Nottingham on board...

[Jackonicko]

On the remember the real enemy front, Waterloo and Agincourt are splendid, but Trafalgar and Oran would be better yet.

I also like Chesapeake Bay. Bunker Hill, Philadelphia, Savannah, and Charleston....

[sycamore]

Illustrious, Indomitable, or Indefatigable and
No 2 CV "Citron" (lemon) for the Froggie one!!:D

[Hummingfrog]

How about HMRAFS Trenchard and Dowding as the RAF will be running the air wing by time that they are launched.

HF
:O

[higthepig]

HMS Refit and HMS In Dock

[Jimlad]

rubbish - the ships are designed for maximum time at sea - they'll be very effective assets for all three services.

[SALAD DODGER]

(In the style of Baldrick)
Sir I have a cunning Plan...
Well you know about Sods Law, if we call the ships HMS Early and HMS Splendid. One of them will most likely be Late and the other a real rustbucket.

So I propose we call them 'HMS Broke in Port' and 'HMS Oh my god we ******ed up the contract again'. What could possibly go wrong?

[SASless]

From the views I see presented in this forum.......HMS Reluctant and HMS Gunshy might be more appropriate.

[ORAC]

Now, now SASless. Haven't we always turned up when you asked?

(In fact, the one time we didn't turn up for Vietnam - which you lost. In the meantime we sorted out the communists in Malaysia and Borneo. Let that be a lesson of what happens when we don't come along to look after you. :D)

[Airbus Unplugged]

Ooohh, let me see now:

HMS Wannafite?
HMS Whaasgoinon?
HMS Beckham?
HMS Unpronouncable?

Perhaps in recognition of the number of blunties and beancounters on board

HMS O

Or maybe sponsored like this:

HMS MacDonalds in association with SKY TV
HMS Eastender
HMS Coronation Street
HMS Queen Vic

Politically Correct

HMS Inclusive
HMS Genderless
HMS peace and love ship

Or even more PC

Peoples love ship

Ah I have it!
,
USS Great Britain

[O'Leo Strut]

Given this wonderful spirit of anglo-French co-operation, I'm in favour of HMS Joan of Ark (sic).

I'm not sure about the other one. How about HMS Johnny Morris in case it turns out to be a white elephant?

When we got there it became obvious that someone had put the wings back on the Corsair upside down...

[timzsta]

In light of the shortage of paint in the MoD at the moment (see the "cant we afford a tin of paint" post, it has been decided that the ships will remain nameless (just like the blithering bunch of idiotic beancounters & paper pushers that will ensure these ships are at least 5 years late entering service). And thats before BAE get there fingers on the project.

Over the course of the projected 40 year life span of the vessels it is estimated that in real terms, the savings made by not having to repaint the names during refits/dry docking/routine maintenance, a saving of about £50 per ship can be made. This is equivalent to 10 packets of 500 sheet A4 paper at Office World, which will enable the beancounters and paper pushers to have the paper they need to properly administer these vessels.

[Duck-U-Suckerz]

I thing we need to get back to having names that both sound A/ 'British' and B/ strike fear into our enimies!

So How about
HMS MILLWALL
AND
HMS "YOURGOINHOMEINAFU*KINABULANCEOY!"

OR WITH MORE LEANING TOWARDS B/strike fear into our enimies!;

HMS STUFFTHEEURO

BUT IF THE LABOUR PARTY GET THEIR SAY (GIVEN THE FACT THEY ARE SO SPINELESS THEY APPEASED THE FRENCH BY LETTING THEM DRAW UP THE CARRIER DESIGN (THAT LOOKS LIKE A CRICKET BAT!))

"THEY'LL SAY YOU CAN CALL ONE
HMS NELSON AS LONG AS THE OTHERS CALLED
HMS MANDELLA :D :D :D

[steamchicken]

CVFs Aggressor, Wimbledonian

LPDs Invader, Savage

Type 45 Destroyers Vicious, Venomous, Vituperative, Vengeful, Voracious, Vapid, ******, Whiskysot, Wobbly (thus reviving the V and W Class)

T23 Frigates Repellent, Repulsive, Repugnant, Risible, Ridiculous, Redundant

SSNs Irresponsible, Unjustifiable

MCMVs Suicidal, Foolhardy, Unwise, Quixotic, Idiotic

RFAs Logistician, Bureaucrat, Wave Chiropodist, Fort Futility, Fort Bankrupt, Unwilling Reservist, Empire Insignificant

SSBNs Horrific, Appalling, Terrifying, Radioactive, Troglodyte

STUFT for Embarked Force Support - none owing to lack of Merchant Navy

oh yes....LPH Ocean!

It was meant to be funny, alright? Sorry....

[propulike]

I like names such as Prince of Wales and Royal Oak, but if we can't have those I wouldn't mind The Royal Arms, Cross-Keys and such like.

(Or even Head of the River as long as there was a nice picture painted beside the name.)

[BlueWolf]

Relax steamchicken, it was funny.

I'm glad you're not the enemy though!:D

[Mike Oxbig]

Surley we need to return to the good old days of aggressive names and not the PC HMS Pink and Fluffy! Maybe Tony Blair could hold a referendum to decide, provided of course 5 particular tests were correct, ie ordered, steel cut, funded, enough aircraft to fly off it and enough crew to man it!

[Capt Homesick]

If we're going to get sidetracked into destroyer names, there is one that's due for re-use: Ardent. Although I admit it's not a very lucky name for a ship...

[DeaconBlue]

How about HMS Lockheed and HMS Martin... After the way this contract has been let the F-35 will be the only working component. :cool:

[SASless]

ORAC....

As I heard it....the only reason you lot sat out the thing in Vietnam is you felt the North Vietnamese were doing pretty well without your help. Is that true?

[Jackonicko]

They did do pretty well though, didn't they?

They beat you guys. Or were those film clips of you lot fleeing from the embassy roof in what is now Ho Chi Minh City evidence of a stunning US victory which liberals like me have somehow misinterpreted?

Other US military successes in which we didn't participate. Somalia, Urgent Fury, Eagle Claw.......

So HMS Reluctant and HMS Gunshy? Your next two will have to be USS Farcical and USS Hopeless, presumably, on that basis then?

[ORAC]

SASless,

I think we thought about, but left it too late. Jane Fonda got there first. :rolleyes:

[brakedwell]

Due to the nation's obsession with football and celebs, why not: HMS Sir David Beckham and HMS Lady Victoria Beckham? Or to keep the kiddies happy: HMS Pinky and HMS Perky.