Allan W Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I'm not particularly concerned about the name change. Achilles has a much more storied history in the RN than Agincourt does. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/navy-bosses-rename-hms-agincourt-to-avoid-annoying-the-french-tvp73bhjf
Tim the Tank Nut Posted January 28 Posted January 28 It's not even built yet. Doesn't seem like a big deal. One thing is certain, the RN is not hurting for great names from previous ships. Achilles is a fine choice as an alternative.
Allan W Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 I want to see an "I" class consisting of Invincible, Indefatigable, Illustrious, Indomitable and Implacable. I'd also like to see a destroyer named Glowworm and an SSN named Unbroken.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 28 Posted January 28 The Conservatives are creating a stink over this, although hilariously the former defence secretary Grant Shapps called it 'The HMS Agincourt' which invited the ire of the more learned British naval historians on Twitter. Being a name, you dont put 'the' in front of it, anymore than you would say 'The Grant Shapps'. I think the last one would have been 'The Great Harry'. If my mothers ancestry research is anywhere correct (and lord bless her it probably isnt), then I had a relative at Agincourt. And yes, even I think that changing the name to not offend the French was worth doing. Can you imagine how Farage would throw his toys out the pram if the French built a boat called Norman Conquest? As others have aid, Achillies is a much better name. We havent had one in the navy since 1990, and I love RN vessels named for Greek Mythology.
Yama Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Just be grateful you don't emulate naming conventions of your cousins from across the bond. It would be named HMS Gordon Brown if that was the case...
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 28 Posted January 28 HMS Boris Johnson (shivers) As the RN is now going along an innovation enspired line of names (which I have to say are all good ones), I want to see a 'Royal Navy ships in fiction' line. Its the only way Im likely to see a HMS Surprise and a HMS Thunderchild in my lifetime.
Dawes Posted January 28 Posted January 28 The whole PC/renaming thing occurred with USS Chancellorsville.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 28 Posted January 28 (edited) Nice thing about sticking with greek mythology, its a bit late in the day for it to be retconned as non pc. Now if they had named one after Venus... Edited January 28 by Stuart Galbraith
Ssnake Posted January 28 Posted January 28 If it's about pissing off others and must start with an A... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT YOU THE HMS ARMADA!
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 28 Posted January 28 HMS Imperialism and HMS Exceptionalism have a noble ring to them....
Yama Posted January 28 Posted January 28 2 hours ago, Dawes said: The whole PC/renaming thing occurred with USS Chancellorsville. Plague of political shipnaming is way older, whole fleet of "USS Leonid Brezhnevs" out there. It's not my horse of course, but I just hate when it's taken care of so poorly.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 28 Posted January 28 The world needs another Cockchafer and Spanker. https://www.forcesnews.com/services/navy/12-bonkers-names-royal-navy-ships
shep854 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I thought tweaking the French was part of the Royal Navy's mission statement...
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 28 Posted January 28 It is, but we are never rude. For example there was never an HMS Frogmangler. In fact in many cases when we captured French ships, we even kept the original name.
DB Posted January 29 Posted January 29 On 1/28/2025 at 2:05 PM, Stuart Galbraith said: It is, but we are never rude. For example there was never an HMS Frogmangler. In fact in many cases when we captured French ships, we even kept the original name. A combination of things. Sometimes the Anglicised version of the name would already be active, and a complete replacement would be unlucky. It did happen, though.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Im a fan of Patrick O Brien, and his HMS Surprise did actually exist. it wasnt quite as capable or as long lived as the fictional example though. Like the book she was captured from the French, and for at least a year kept her original name Unité. Perhaps she wasnt in commission at the time. Can entirely understand why they changed it though, just a little too Bonapartist for comfort. There was a captured French ship used by the Royal Navy that was scuttled in the 1950's. I seem to recall she still retained her original name.
TonyE Posted January 30 Posted January 30 2 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said: There was a captured French ship used by the Royal Navy that was scuttled in the 1950's. I seem to recall she still retained her original name. HMS Implacable (1805) - Wikipedia
TonyE Posted January 30 Posted January 30 On 1/28/2025 at 10:11 AM, Stuart Galbraith said: HMS Boris Johnson (shivers) As the RN is now going along an innovation enspired line of names (which I have to say are all good ones), I want to see a 'Royal Navy ships in fiction' line. Its the only way Im likely to see a HMS Surprise and a HMS Thunderchild in my lifetime. We still need an HMS Indefatigalbraithable.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Thats odd, I could have swore she retained her name. Thanks anyway. Nah, it would be unsinkable, wholly unsporting for the Royal Navy to put such a vessel in service. Besides, for the rest of the century, any similar vessels would be known as Indefatigalbraithables, and that would never do.
Laser Shark Posted January 30 Posted January 30 On 1/28/2025 at 9:03 AM, Stuart Galbraith said: Can you imagine how Farage would throw his toys out the pram if the French built a boat called Norman Conquest? Would Farage or anyone else in the UK really raise a stink* about a French frigate (or w/e) named Hastings? * Meaning, beyond uttering a muffled “cheeky frogs” over the morning cup of tea.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Yes, they probably would actually. I'm surprised they didn't kick off over the Charles De Gaulle.
Laser Shark Posted January 30 Posted January 30 5 minutes ago, Stuart Galbraith said: Yes, they probably would actually. I'm surprised they didn't kick off over the Charles De Gaulle. Then they should grow some thicker skin IMO. Same with any French who’d get offended by HMS Agincourt.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 30 Posted January 30 It's just about being nice to each other. For example, recall that some Germans got very upset our calling the Eurofighter the Typhoon, and asked how we would feel if they called theirs Stuka. Which may be true, but radically different circumstances of course. Besides, it could have been worse. We could have called it Lancaster.
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