Aircraft Carriers

[sequoiaranger]

Pyro--I'm with you. STOP naming carriers after administrators, or any other persons, actually. "Traditionally" the carriers were named after famous battles or previous Revolutionary/1812 warships. I'd like to see that tradition retained.

Ranger (ya think?)
Saratoga
Lexington
Belleau Wood
Hornet
Wasp
Enterprise
Yorktown
Bon Homme Richard
Intrepid

Now THERE are some names REEKING of history to retain for major warships of the US Navy!!

[rickshaw]

What, no "Shangri la" ?   

[PR19_Kit]

...and the 'Antietam'? The world's first real angled-deck carrier?

Would one of our US members tell me what, or where, Antietam was please? I always thought it sounded a weird name fora ship.

[icchan]

...and the 'Antietam'? The world's first real angled-deck carrier?

Would one of our US members tell me what, or where, Antietam was please? I always thought it sounded a weird name fora ship.

Antietam was the location of a major battle in the American Civil War, fought 17 September 1862.  Notable for having the worst single-day casualties in a single battle United States history.  3,654 dead and 17,292 wounded, 1,771 missing.  The war blunted the South's drive north, and strategic momentum eventually turned against the Confederate States following this battle.  It took some time, but this was the fulcrum upon which the war turned.

[proditor]

And here's a link to the US Park service page for the battlefield. 

http://www.nps.gov/ancm/index.htm

[PR19_Kit]

Thanks guys, very informative.

You learn something new every day.  

[tikkiebox]

Of course, the first USN carrier, USS Langley, was named after a person

[icchan]

Most appropriate name if we're going for naming flattops for people would be Eugene Ely.

[rickshaw]

How about calling one "Billy Mitchell"?  

[sequoiaranger]

He certainly was an ADVOCATE of sinking ships with airpower, but had nothing to do with the Navy. In fact, he was one that would have advocated that the US Navy was "obsolete" since large Army bombers could stop invading enemy fleets far out at sea before they reached our shores.

I think it was apt that the highly-successful B-25 carry his name, however.

I am surprised, too, that no carrier was named "Moffet" or "Reeves". These were the two GIANTS in the formation of Naval Aviation doctrine, and creating a career path for Naval Aviation in Navy hierarchy that was absent in other nations. Glenn Curtiss built and flew the FIRST official Navy airplane, and started a flying school here on Coronado island (San Diego, California harbor) a hundred years ago. There was a seaplane carrier named "Curtiss", wholly appropriate, seeing that his major Naval efforts were directed to seaplanes and flying boats, but one would have thought that as the number of carriers multiplied that the name would stick to a more major aircraft carrier.

I would rather NOT have personages associated with the carriers, but rather the formative battles of our history and previous ships (especially previous aircraft carriers). If persons are to be honored, HAVE A LITTLE CLASS and name them after truly great NAVAL personages of history!

[PR19_Kit]

Perhaps the USN figured that Moffet had already been honoured in that they named a large airfield after him?

And it's difficult to miss with those three GINORMOUS airship sheds plonked either side of the runway. 

I flew o'head Moffet Field some years back, in a Reno Air MD-90 en route to Reno from Okland, and even though I knew the sheds were there I was amazed at quite how huge they were. And I've been to Cardington too........

[McColm]

Good job the're not named after British Prime Ministers!!

[rickshaw]

Good job the're not named after British Prime Ministers!!

One USN ship is/was...

[CanisD]

Moffett had a destroyer named after him, DD-362, a Porter class and Reeves had CG-24, a Leahy Class, named after him. That was back when the Navy followed its established rules for naming ships. Now its all political.

[lenny100]

Good job the're not named after British Prime Ministers!!

One USN ship is/was...

the current USS churchill is named after our Winnie and has a member of the royal navy as a crew member at all times