Warship names and their entomology

[J.T.B.]

Unfortunately, your information is faulty.

According to the book The Franklin Comes Home (Hawthorne Books, 1974) by A.A. Hoehling, written about the catastrophic damage the USS Franklin received on 19 March 1945, the ship was named for the Battle of Franklin, TN from the Civil War and NOT for a ship of the line or for Benjamin Franklin. This is printed on page 3.

Yes, I'm aware of that claim, it has obviously been around for a long time. But the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships is the US Navy's official word, and it clearly states "The first four ships of the name honor Benjamin Franklin; CV-13 perpetuates the names of these ships," as Bloodwhiner has already cited.

The reason I referred to the ship-of-the-line Franklin (Franklin no. 3) as the namesake is that none of the others were particularly noteworthy. As one of the first line-of-battle ships commissioned in the USN, "Franklin" became one of the service's "prestige" names. The others were Independence, Columbus, Washington and Ohio. "Independence" was also used for a carrier; the others having corresponding place names would obviously go to battleships or cruisers before a carrier.

--Justin

 

[Praetor]

Well, let's hope that names like the Enterprise, Lexington, Saratoga, Constellation, Ranger, and Hornet gets carried on in the new America Class.

Agreed there.

It's been almost 24 hours, so here's the answer to the question: Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin CV-13 was named for one of the first US ships-of-the-line, named of course for Benjamin Franklin.

Bon Homme Richard CV-31 was named after the Revolutionary War vessel commanded by John Paul Jones. Her name was the French version of Franklin's pen name, Poor Richard.

CV-13 was commissioned 31 January 1944, decommissioned 17 February 1947 (after devastating war damage in early '45). CV-31 commissioned 26 November 1944, decommissioned 2 July 1971. The "Bonnie Dick" name lives on today with LHD-6, with the preferred spelling of "Bonhomme."

Yes, it was kind of a trick question! Thanks for guessing, Bloodwhiner!

--Justin

I totally knew that one. That's what I get for finding that thread late. Oh, well.

Here's a picture of the Franklin to make everyone feel better.

 

[J.T.B.]

Following up on the subject of USS Franklin, there is some nice color footage of the wounded carrier in the 1949 Gary Cooper movie Task Force. If you get TCM, you can catch it this Saturday, May 23, 9:45 ET.

--Justin

 

[Praetor]

Man, I wish I had cable.

 

[think]

So, (trying to stay on topic) where does the the warship "Freedom" really get its name from? I am just not sure, I would look it up but then that would spoil it for this thread .,

 

[Praetor]

Earliest I can find is this Freedom from WWII.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Entomology ... I knew there was something about that word that bugs me.

 

[Praetor]

^

I can't help but wonder: will the U.S. Navy, going forward, just keep rotating their naming conventions between ship types? I.E., the next generation of cruiser named after the previous generation of carrier?

What made the Royal Navy decide to name their new carrier after Her Majesty? Hadn't they always gone with adjectives before?

 

[Marc]

^

I can't help but wonder: will the U.S. Navy, going forward, just keep rotating their naming conventions between ship types? I.E., the next generation of cruiser named after the previous generation of carrier?

What made the Royal Navy decide to name their new carrier after Her Majesty? Hadn't they always gone with adjectives before?

Nope - as mentioned before they've had the King George V (twice), the Hood (named after an Admiral), the Prince of Wales to name 3

Hell in WWII they had the Flower Class coverttes where the ships were named after flowers (HMS Coriander anyone

It was a fictional Flower Class that was the setting for Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea.

 

[Praetor]

^Ah, I hadn't thought of those examples.

 

[Bloodwhiner]

Found this - an alphabetical list of most modern US Warships both present and past (oddly most ships sunk in battle are omitted):

http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/name.htm

 

[J.T.B.]

What made the Royal Navy decide to name their new carrier after Her Majesty? Hadn't they always gone with adjectives before?

The new carrier is named for Elizabeth I, and carries on a well-known battleship name. The Queen Elizabeth class were famous as the fastest and most formidable super-dreadnoughts of WW1, and served with distinction in WW2 as well. Queen Elizabeth herself missed Jutland but later served as the flagship of Admiral Beatty, CinC Grand Fleet.

The other new carrier, Prince of Wales, also bears a (perhaps unfortunately) famous battleship name. The idea seems to be that the carriers are the new capital ships.

RN carrier names have been all over the place, from mythological (Argus, Hermes, Hercules) to traditional (Ark Royal, Warrior) to adjectives, some of which were also traditional (Invincible, Indefatigable).

--Justin

 

[Santaman]

Invincible is a great name for a ship, however, the first Invincible was a battlecruiser which had its not so invincible armour pierced so she blew up at Jutland.

As for the Queen Elizabeth class battleships, they were the finest battleships ever with Warspite being the best of the best, no other ship ever was present at so many crucial places.

Jutland, where she lost rudder control and made a few full circles in site of the German fleet with that they forgot about HMS Warrior so she could escape destruction.
And she was everywhere in WW-II.

She also holds the distinction of having scored the longest range gunnery hit from a moving ship to a moving target in history, she hit the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare at a 26,000 yard distance.

In 1947 she escaped the breakers yard, she broke free of her anchor,and ran aground in Prussia Cove.

And then there is Yavuz, the Turkish battlecruiser which served from 1911 well into the 1960's almost 50 years of service before she was scrapped.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I mean, seriously--who builds an enormous battleship, and then calls it the "Rodney"?

Rodney is bad, However as with everything come ww2 the USN outdone the Royal Navy's Rodney with the mighty USS MANLOVE.

"Manlove" seems appropriate for sailors, somehow.

I would imagine so, as one of the female sailors on my ship was named Manlove.

 

[J.T.B.]

Jutland, where she lost rudder control and made a few full circles in site of the German fleet with that they forgot about HMS Warrior so she could escape destruction.

Warspite took thirteen 12-inch hits in less than 45 minutes. That's a tough battleship.

And then there is Yavuz, the Turkish battlecruiser which served from 1911 well into the 1960's almost 50 years of service before she was scrapped.

Which was of course originally the German Goeben, whose escape in the Med caused the Admiralty so much embarrassment in the early days of the war.

--Justin

 

[Santaman]

^^ Yep, the Brits took control of two battleships that were build for Turkey, one of them was HMS Erin, the other one was of course HMS Agincourt, the most outrageous battleship ever, the Germans gave them Yavuz and IIRC the light cruiser Bresslau in return and the loyalty of the turks.

 

[Goliath]

RN carrier names have been all over the place, from mythological (Argus, Hermes, Hercules) to traditional (Ark Royal, Warrior) to adjectives, some of which were also traditional (Invincible, Indefatigable).

I like the story of the Glorious-class, myself.

These three early carriers began as Fisher's Folly. Jackie Fisher, the eccentric genius who did so much to reform the early 20th-century Royal Navy, was obsessed with the idea that "speed equals armour." So obsessed that he finally went completely mad and designed a class of three "large light cruisers": the Furious, Glorious, and Courageous.

These cruisers could reach speeds of more than thirty knots, and were armed with four 15-inch guns: Furious was actually designed to carry two 18-inch guns. But they had almost no armour. People nicknamed then the Curious, the Uproarious, and the Outrageous.

Fisher wanted these ships to support an amphibious invasion of northern Germany, via the Baltic Sea. Saner heads prevailed, and they were ultimately converted into aircraft carriers.

Rodney is bad, However as with everything come ww2 the USN outdone the Royal Navy's Rodney with the mighty USS MANLOVE.

"Manlove" seems appropriate for sailors, somehow.

I would imagine so, as one of the female sailors on my ship was named Manlove.

Sounds like she fit right in. No pun intended.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Sounds like she fit right in. No pun intended.

Hahahha! Yeah, actually she was one very cool chick.