I was thinking about how some classes are named for lead ships and other classes are named for the thing all the names have in common. Condottieri, Soldati, County, so on...but we don’t have a Northwest-class battleship or New England-class battleship. So what’s the pattern?
It used to be that Battleships were named after Federal States, Subs after fish, CA's after cities, CV's after famous battles, DD's after military hero's. But all that former tradition has been thrown away.
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
I don't think there was much of a pattern. Some of it is simply driven by politics at the time - Names are selected/approved by SECNAV. But I've never heard of a particular class having a specific BB naming convention beyond simply "states".
I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way. - Captain John Paul Jones
I don't think there was much of a pattern. Some of it is simply driven by politics at the time - Names are selected/approved by SECNAV. But I've never heard of a particular class having a specific BB naming convention beyond simply "states".
I agree I think that it was driven very much by politics especially during WWII when the Federal Government was trying to sell War Bonds. Take for example the Liberty Ships of WWII very much to generate sales in the former Confederate States.
For example: • During WWII the Navy named the following Liberty ships after Confederate generals; SS E. Kirby Smith after General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA; SS John B Gordon after Major General John B Gordon, CSA; SS A. P. Hill after Lt General A. P. Hill, CSA; SS D. H. Hill after Lt General D. H. Hill, CSA; SS Edward P. Alexander after Major General Edward Porter Alexander, CSA; SS Fitzhugh Lee after Major General Fitzhugh Lee, CSA nephew of Robert E. Lee; SS Nathan Bedford Forrest after Lt General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA; SS J. Johnson Pettigrew after Major General J. Johnson Pettigrew, CSA; SS James Longstreet after Lt General James Longstreet, CSA; and SS Joseph Wheeler after Lt General Joseph Wheeler, CSA. Let’s not forget the SS Jefferson Davis after the President of the Confederacy; SS Robert M. T. Hunter who was the Confederate Secretary of State; SS George Davis who was the Confederate Attorney General.
Trying not to get political here but imagine those ships being named in today's climate.
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
Summary Names for Navy ships traditionally have been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy, under the direction of the President and in accordance with rules prescribed by Congress. Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time. There have been exceptions to the Navy’s ship-naming rules, particularly for the purpose of naming a ship for a person when the rule for that type of ship would have called for it to be named for something else. Some observers have perceived a breakdown in, or corruption of, the rules for naming Navy ships. On July 13, 2012, the Navy submitted to Congress a 73-page report on the Navy’s policies and practices for naming ships.
For ship types now being procured for the Navy, or recently procured for the Navy, naming rules can be summarized as follows:
SSBN-826, the first of the Navy’s new ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) has been named Columbia in honor of the District of Columbia, but the Navy has not stated what the naming rule for these ships will be.
Virginia (SSN-774) class attack submarines are being named for states.
Of the Navy’s 15 most recently named aircraft carriers, 10 have been named for past U.S. Presidents and 2 for Members of Congress. On January 20, 2020, at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ceremony, the Navy announced that CVN-81, an aircraft carrier authorized by Congress in FY2019, would be named for Doris Miller, an African American enlisted sailor who received the Navy Cross for his actions during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Destroyers are being named for deceased members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including Secretaries of the Navy.
The Navy has not yet announced a naming rule for its planned new class of FFG(X) frigates, the first of which was funded in FY2020. Previous classes of U.S. Navy frigates, like Navy destroyers, were generally named for naval leaders and heroes.
Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) have been named for regionally important U.S. cities and communities.
Amphibious assault ships are being named for important battles in which U.S. Marines played a prominent part, and for famous earlier U.S. Navy ships that were not named for battles.
San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious ships are being named for major U.S. cities and communities, and cities and communities attacked on September 11, 2001.
John Lewis (TAO-205) class oilers are being named for people who fought for civil rights and human rights.
Expeditionary Fast Transports (EPFs) are being named for small U.S. cities.
Expeditionary Transport Docks (ESDs) and Expeditionary Sea Bases (ESBs) are being named for famous names or places of historical significance to U.S. Marines.
Navajo (TATS-6) class towing, salvage, and rescue ships are being named for prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes. Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress Congressional Research Service
Since 1974, at least 21 U.S. military ships have been named for persons who were living at the time the name was announced. The most recent instance occurred on May 6, 2019, when the Navy announced that it was naming the destroyer DDG-133 for former Senator Sam Nunn. Members of the public are sometimes interested in having Navy ships named for their own states or cities, for older U.S. Navy ships (particularly those on which they or their relatives served), for battles in which they or their relatives participated, or for people they admire. Congress has long maintained an interest in how Navy ships are named, and has influenced the naming of certain Navy ships. The Navy suggests that congressional offices wishing to express support for proposals to name a Navy ship for a specific person, place, or thing contact the office of the Secretary of the Navy to make their support known. Congress may also pass legislation relating to ship names. Measures passed by Congress in recent years regarding Navy ship names have all been sense-of-the-Congress provisions.
The six Alaska class being hybrids between cruisers and battleships fell into a different naming band. They were named after territories or 'insular areas'. Thus Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Samoa were chosen. Obviously Hawaii and Alaska became states later.
It looks like there is regional diversity in play with the names. Look at the first Mississippi & New Mexico to the end of the dreadnaughts. The ships in each class were named after states in different regions. Nevada and Oklahoma, of the 2-ship classes, may be the two states closest together. There seems to be some pattern to the reuse of names.
By the time of WW-1, the US was running out of state names for battleships. The armored cruisers lost their state names. I don't know what would be done if the USN ever had more battleships than there were states plus Kearsarge. Go to the territories and DC?
Around World War I the USN calculated that they needed 48 capitol ships, 20 battleships and 4 battlecruisers for each the Atlantic and Pacific. Since they had 48 states by 1912 and wanted 48 modern capitol ships they did a couple things. New Navy monitors and predreadnoughts, the two forerunners of battleships, were renamed so their names could be reused, and armored cruisers, the forerunners of battlecruisers were renamed while battlecruisers were given a completely different naming convention. Also as territories became states such as New Mexico and Arizona they almost immediately were assigned to battleships beginning construction.