# Favourite warship name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218 "2009-09-23T12:22:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/41 "2009-09-23T21:58:31Z")
Thunder Child as many have said. [Culture ships](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_(The_Culture)) are good too, as **MostlyClueless** said. _Killing Time_, _Gunboat Diplomat, Steely Glint, Wisdom Like Silence, Ultimate Ship The Second_ etc. IIRC one of the C’Tan of Warhammer 40k had a ship named _Death of Worlds_. _Deathdealer_, the Achuultani ship in _Empire From the Ashes_ The O’benn of _Schlock Mercenary_ have ships with cool if overly dramatic names. Examples: _Cloak of Untrammeled Dignity, Sword of Inevitable Justice, Lance of Unspeakable Agony, Scimitar of Irreparable Damage._ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/42 "2009-09-23T22:00:36Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > There was not one, but two USS Sappho. Of course there were two of them. Otherwise it would have been named the USS Narcissus! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/43 "2009-09-23T22:09:36Z")
USS Shenandoah HMS Victory HMS Warrior TFTT Roger Young ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/44 "2009-09-23T22:13:35Z")
The Royal Navy honoured vegetarianism with [HMS Quorn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Quorn) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/45 "2009-09-23T22:23:32Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > They weren’t messing around when naming: > > _HMS Terror > HMS Devastation > HMS Revenge > HMS Implacable_ > > Ambiguous: > > _HMS Terrible > HMS Furious > HMCS Chilliwack_ > > Not so hot: > > _HMS Buttercup > HMS Candytuft > HMS Cowslip > HMS Dahlia > HMS Honeysuckle > HMS Marigold > HMS Periwinkle > HMS Petunia > HMS Pink > HMS Poppy > HMS Primrose > HMS Snowflake > HMS Tulip_ Personally my all-time favorite war ship and name is the Mary Rose. Don’t know how that falls on your scale but to me its like the largest biker in any club being called Tiny. Think of it as a sign that when attacked any animal can be dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/46 "2009-09-23T22:29:42Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > IIRC one of the C’Tan of Warhammer 40k had a ship named _Death of Worlds_. Did not know that althought that is a nice name. But I like the Death Guard’s flagship, [Terminus Est](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Torturer) (oops, that only **Looks** like a 40k book :)). ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/47 "2009-09-23T22:35:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Of course there were two of them. Otherwise it would have been named the USS Narcissus! Suprisingly, there have been 6 HMS Narcissus. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS\_Narcissus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Narcissus) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/48 "2009-09-23T22:39:43Z")
In a recent GQ I had occasion to remark on **Eugene of Savoy** , who managed to inspire warships for at least four different countries: The Austrian battleship [_Prinz Eugen_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Prinz_Eugen). The British monitor [_Prince Eugene_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prince_Eugene). The German heavy cruiser [_Prinz Eugen_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Prinz_Eugen). The Italian light cruiser [_Eugenio di Savoia_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cruiser_Eugenio_di_Savoia). I find the above highly amusing for some reason :p. And like I said then, I’m surprised we don’t have a French version, seeing as how he was also raised in France for his first twenty years. ---
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/49 "2009-09-23T22:43:16Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > _HMS Dreadnought_ No question here. Dreadnought is the cooles name possible. The idea of HMS Victory is pretty clear, too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/50 "2009-09-23T22:45:18Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > God loves children, fools, & ships named _Enterprise_. > He also, apparently, love bunnies. and hates toads. As do all freedom-loving “people” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/51 "2009-09-23T22:49:32Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Personally my all-time favorite war ship and name is the Mary Rose. Don’t know how that falls on your scale but to me its like the largest biker in any club being called Tiny. _Mary Rose_ works for me, kind of stately and it references the symbol of the Tudors. If it had been named the Honeysuckle we’d probably have left it at the bottom of the Solent. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/52 "2009-09-23T22:52:48Z")
(if it’s OK to veer off into names we don’t like) There’s the _USS Somerset_. “_USS United Airlines Flight 93_” is, I’ll admit, cumbersom. But to memorialize it with the name of the county where the jet crashed is too obscure, as if its full name should be “_USS Somerset (see footnotes)_” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/53 "2009-09-24T00:53:14Z")
HMS Indefatigable. Jackie Fisher’s HMS Dreadnaught is a close second. “Fear G-d, and dread naught.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/54 "2009-09-24T01:01:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [USS Wahoo](http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=26378) Thanks for the link. she was a great boat with a great crew. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/55 "2009-09-24T01:04:03Z")
A number of my favourites amongst Royal Navy’s jolly heroically named vessels have already come up (including _Warspite_ and _Indefatigable_). A few not yet mentioned: _Audacious Dauntless Defiance Inflexible Vengeance_ and one of my all-time favs _HMS Iron Duke_. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/56 "2009-09-24T01:08:22Z")
Von Der Tann named after [Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Freiherr_von_und_zu_der_Tann-Rathsamhausen) However, I would have to go with _Ark Royal, Renown_ or _Sovereign of the Seas_… ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/57 "2009-09-24T01:10:57Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > _HMS Dreadnought_ HMS Dreadnought. A whole new class of ships. This is one of the top. Then there is the USS Enterprise CV 6 USS Yahoo USS Midway, first steel deck carrier. USS Maliena ( I may have miss spelled it) ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/58 "2009-09-24T01:13:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > HMS Indefatigable. > > Jackie Fisher’s HMS Dreadnaught is a close second. “Fear G-d, and dread naught.” > 🙂 Very slight nitpick. The ship was “Dreadnought”. I also understand the “Fear God and Dread Naught” was the motto of Jackie Fisher (First Baron Fisher of Kilverstone) and he adopted it in relation to the vessel when he was elevated to the peerage or whatever it was. So the saying applied to the Admiral, not the vessel. If I can find my copy of “Dreadnought” I will clarify. (I have Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War 1" in front of me but it isn’t a lot of help". ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/59 "2009-09-24T02:01:09Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Very slight nitpick. The ship was “Dreadnought”. I also understand the “Fear God and Dread Naught” was the motto of Jackie Fisher (First Baron Fisher of Kilverstone) Thanks for the spelling correction; for the rest, y’all gonna argue with a Lord of the Admiralty? 🙂 I thought “his” Dreadnought was named with regard to his motto. I had no idea there was a previous Dreadnought. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218/60 "2009-09-24T02:15:44Z")
There was a Dreadnought in 1875. There were probably several earlier. (it is interesting that the Japanese laid down their own big gun ship “Satsuma” earlier and I believe America also had one laid down. The British were able to build the Dreadnought faster though. End of hijack). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-warship-name/511218.md?page=4)