# Are Navy ships still christened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356 "2004-12-31T01:52:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/1 "2004-12-31T01:52:27Z")
So we’re enjoying our extended Christmas vacation here with my parents when the flodfather asked a question that had us all stumped… Large ships are usually launched by breaking a bottle of champagne on the bow before the ship enters the water. However, extremely large ships, especially US Naval aircraft carriers, are built in a dry dock, not on building ways. How are these ships now launched? Is the traditional bottle of champagne still broken on the bow prior to flooding the dry dock? Or has this custom been eliminated? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/2 "2004-12-31T02:02:50Z")
[Christening of the USS Reagan in 2001](http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:u8eUsh5aBFMJ:https://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/3/4/213225.shtml+USS+reagan+nancy+christened&hl=en&client=firefox-a) [Commissioning of the USS reagan in 2003](http://www.m1-garand.com/USS_Ronald_Reagan.htm) > [@](#): > > With the order “Bring her to life,” former first lady Nancy Reagan (search) sent lines of sailors streaming onto the first U.S. carrier to bear the name of a living president. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/3 "2004-12-31T02:04:07Z")
Apparently, yes. [USS Ronald Reagan](http://www.dod.mil/news/Mar2001/n03052001_200103051.html) (CVN 76), a Nimitz-class carrier, was christened with a champagne bottle by Nancy in 2001. [CVN 77](http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/77.htm), as of now to be named USS George H W Bush (Bush-41 was a decorated WW2 Naval Aviator, and at time of entry the youngest commissioned Navy pilot, the only **real** carrier-wing jock to ever be Prez) , is “scehduled to be christened” in 2006. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/4 "2004-12-31T02:05:34Z")
According to [this news article](http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/news.ssf?/base/news/1103195701279960.xml), the Navy is scheduling a christening ceremony for it’s newest guided missile destroyer on January 22. They floated it off the builder’s dry dock on December 16 and towed it to its moorings for the upcoming ceremony. No word on whether champagne will be involved. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/5 "2004-12-31T02:09:49Z")
Wow… saw the OP, and while digging up pictures, had 3 people reply ahead of me. Anyway, if you look here: [http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/76.htm](http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/76.htm) at the eighth picture down where Nancy Reagan is christening the USS Ronald Reagan, you’ll notice that if you look past her, there’s water right behind the bow of the ship. So I’ll say that they at least flood the dry dock, if not moor the ship somewhere else before the christening ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/6 "2004-12-31T03:31:50Z")
I’m not entirely certain if surface vessels are christened in a flooded drydock, but when we christened the USS VIRGINIA (SSN 774), the christening took place in a flooded drydock. I just viewed photographs of the USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23) christening and see that they were christened in the same flooded drydock. And yes, the traditional bottle of champagne is still used, although on submarines, it’s broken against the aft end of the sail. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/7 "2004-12-31T15:03:53Z")
Well, of course they’re going to have a christening ceremony when they launch a giant ship a named after a former, much-admired president. What I would like to know – and perhaps this is what the OP was getting at – is whether all (or most) military ships are christened, even the smaller ones that (presumably) get cranked out of some out-of-the-way shipyard, named for the luitenant governor or somebody like that. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/8 "2004-12-31T15:15:55Z")
> [@stuyguy](#): > > What I would like to know – and perhaps this is what the OP was getting at – is whether all (or most) military ships are christened, even the smaller ones that (presumably) get cranked out of some out-of-the-way shipyard, named for the luitenant governor or somebody like that. According to the article cited in my previous post, the ship the Navy will be christening in January will be named after Rear Adm. Isaac Kidd. A fine man, I’m sure, but hardly a household name. And, when you consider that this is “just” a destroyer and it’s the _third_ one to be named after Adm. Kidd, it seems like the Navy has plenty of excuses to scrap the christening if they want to–which it appears they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/9 "2004-12-31T15:19:43Z")
Well **stuyguy** , I can’t speak for the Navy, but all Coasy Guard cutters are still christened the old fashioned way. Here’s some pics of Lt. Governor Ulmer christening the new [Coast Guard cutter Maple](http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/maple.htm) in Wisconsin. If the “black sheep” black hull sailors still get their ships kissed with a champagne bottle, I’d be _very_ surprised to learn of a Navy ship that didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/10 "2004-12-31T15:28:07Z")
Coasy Guard. Ha! :wally ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/11 "2004-12-31T15:37:40Z")
> [@Scruloose](#): > > Coasy Guard. Ha! :wally Keeping the teapots of America safe and warm for over 200 years. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/12 "2004-12-31T23:00:51Z")
[Re: USCGC Maple] May I take the opportunity to say the method of launching a medium-sized ship off the slips _sideways_, even though I know it’s perfectly sound, always strikes me weirdly. I always keep expecting the next one to go turtle. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/13 "2004-12-31T23:53:51Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > [Re: USCGC Maple] May I take the opportunity to say the method of launching a medium-sized ship off the slips _sideways_, even though I know it’s perfectly sound, always strikes me weirdly. I always keep expecting the next one to go turtle. I’m confident that I’ve seem some video of just this occurance, much to the embarassment of the ship builders. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/14 "2005-01-01T00:25:50Z")
All of the Aegis destroyers built at Bath Iron Works in Maine get christening ceremonies with all the trimmings, and relatives of the person they’re named for get to do the honors. BIW had been the last US yard to launch ships down slideways and into a big splash, but now they flood a drydock like everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-navy-ships-still-christened/282356/15 "2005-01-01T00:37:16Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > [Re: USCGC Maple] May I take the opportunity to say the method of launching a medium-sized ship off the slips _sideways_, even though I know it’s perfectly sound, always strikes me weirdly. I always keep expecting the next one to go turtle. I want to say that I’ve seen video of a yacht do this - but my memory has lied to me before. When the CG launched the Healy (420’ breaker), they launched her sideways like the WLMs & Bs. The spectators got much more than they bargained for, including some injuries. For starters, they were way too close to the waters edge, and when the ship hit the water, the crowd got hit with a pretty forceful spray of water. There were some shrapnel injuries as well, from splintered wood sent back into the crowd. Here’s a video of the launching of the CGC Spar, which is almost half the length of the Healy: [http://www.uscg.mil/news/spar/Sparla1.avi](http://www.uscg.mil/news/spar/Sparla1.avi) Same boat, different angle:[http://www.uscg.mil/news/spar/SPAR%20Launch%20Aug00.mpg](http://www.uscg.mil/news/spar/SPAR%20Launch%20Aug00.mpg)