# Imaginative types: Name needed for fictitious British cargo carrier **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278 "2009-02-17T16:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/41 "2009-02-18T09:24:37Z")
The Overlander. The Terrahawk. The Paddington. The Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The Crusader. The Navigator. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/42 "2009-02-18T10:24:14Z")
How about **[Bazalgette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bazalgette)**. Si ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/43 "2009-02-18T10:41:49Z")
Armstrong-Vickers Tiberiator Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Leviathrom Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Cunnysack Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Spanker Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Spunkbottom Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Carryon Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Fawlty Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Sluggard Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Cleanastern Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Sextant Mk IV (someone had to) ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/44 "2009-02-18T10:44:42Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > I saw what you did there. šŸ˜‰ That is, of course, pronounced ā€˜sinjonā€™. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/45 "2009-02-18T11:41:10Z")
Per analogy with [kangaroo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_(armoured_personnel_carrier)) Iā€™d call it **Armstrong-Vickers Platypus Mk IV** , or maybe **Armstrong-Vickers Echidna Mk IV** Though I admit that Percheron sounds really good. [QUOTE=Rocketeer] The local science-fiction model group is having a challenge; we were each given a cheap kit of an HH-43 Huskie helicopter (think cute little box with twin rotors and lots of rivets), and told to do what we liked with it. [/QUOTE] Ha! I know this helicopter. Itā€™s the one with escheresque impossible rotors. I donā€™t understand how it can fly in just three dimensions. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/46 "2009-02-18T14:26:51Z")
> [@puppygod](#): > > Ha! I know this helicopter. Itā€™s the one with escheresque impossible rotors. I donā€™t understand how it can fly in just three dimensions. šŸ˜ƒ Yeah, I built one many years ago (the tool is an old one, originally issued by Hawk) and used to sit there fascinated, turning the rotors around and around. Why donā€™t they _collide_?!? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/47 "2009-02-18T16:39:27Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Other suggestions (apologies if Iā€™m using up more than my allotted space): From the Office of SDMB Space Resources Dear Mr. Sampiro, As you have correctly surmised, you are in fact in breach of your **SDMB Space Allocation** for this Topic. There is no cause for alarm, as you are a valued poster and this is your first offence. However we would be deeply grateful if you could see your way clear to not repeating this error. Please bear in mind that, as one of the SDMBā€™s more interesting posters, you are a trend-setter - and therefore must be careful about setting a poor example. I donā€™t think I need to say any more, as you are undoubtedly an intelligent fellow (and also I am perilously close to reaching my own Space Alloc ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/48 "2009-02-18T19:58:47Z")
When in doubt, go with history. The British love their history. So you could name your vehicle after former Prime Minister James Hacker, who was elevated to the position on the sudden retirement of his predecessor; he did remarkable work in an impossible situation, or he accomplished virtually nothing at all, depending on your point of view. See [this documentary](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086831) for more information. Plus, ā€œHackerā€ is a funny name for a vehicle. Purely on its sound, itā€™s short, aggressive, masculine, very Anglo-Saxon, short vowels and hard consonants. Appropriate for military. But by definition, there are all sorts of awkward little connotations that go along with it. So: Itā€™s the Armstrong-Vickers ā€œHackerā€ Mark Four. (The quotes are important.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/49 "2009-02-18T20:41:05Z")
Armstrong-Vickers Clarionā€™s Call Mk IV ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/50 "2009-02-18T20:53:46Z")
The Zulu had a brutal club (the name escapes me), and some of the lads in Red took them home after that nasty business. Armstrong-Vickers Knout Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers ā€œCarbuncleā€ Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Maul Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Hummock Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Wart Mk IV Armstrong-Vickers Ackthorp Mk IV b Armstrong-Vickers Grunion Mk IV (for the sound it makes) Thle British named some powerful aircraft after tiny insects. In the same vein: Armstrong-Vickers Vole Mk IV ---
**Author:** ![Lungfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@Lungfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lungfish)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/51 "2009-02-18T21:22:52Z")
How about The Vickers-Armstrong Clydesdale Mk.IV. Name after the Clydesdale Horse. It fulfills the OPā€™s requirement for it have ā€œconnotations of strength and/or enduranceā€. > [@AskNott](#): > > The Zulu had a brutal club (the name escapes me), and some of the lads in Red took them home after that nasty business. [Knobkerry club](http://www.africanfilmny.org/Auction/club.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/52 "2009-02-19T02:58:24Z")
Vickers Armstrong Disraeli Gofast Mk 4 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/53 "2009-02-19T04:53:40Z")
Vickers Armstrong Major-General Stanley Mk IV Vickers Armstrong Cornwallis Mk IV Vickers Armstrong Kitchener Mk IV Vickers Armstrong Flashman Mk IV ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/54 "2009-02-19T05:20:41Z")
Vickers Armstrong New Berry Fruit Mk IV: tough, crystalline exterior; firm but flexible polymer interior; able to blend in with surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/55 "2009-02-19T11:05:43Z")
> [@Lungfish](#): > > How about The Vickers-Armstrong Clydesdale Mk.IV. Name after the Clydesdale Horse. It fulfills the OPā€™s requirement for it have ā€œconnotations of strength and/or enduranceā€. And was already suggested in post 11. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/56 "2009-02-19T11:36:56Z")
There are a few Dopers in this thread whose name would be good to use. The Lungfish. The Quartz. The Mudshark. The Scissorjack. The Sunspace. The Wargamer. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/57 "2009-02-19T12:10:24Z")
As was mentioned upthread, the British Military were not terribly imaginative namers of things. Something like the vehicle in the picture you linked to would probably have a name like _ā€œVehicle, Motorised, Tracked, Vickers-Armstrong Pattern 1931, Mk IVā€_ Now, what you want is a _Commercial_ name for it; something Vickers-Armstrong could use to sell the vehicle to the Government of the Cape Colony or the State of Victoria or something. There have been some excellent suggestions already (I rather liked the ā€œVickers-Armstong Flashman Mk IVā€ myself, but unless your device has sex with everyoneā€™s wife and then runs like hell from the scene of a major battle, yet still ends up with at least one gong, itā€™s not really apt ;)) but realistically Iā€™m inclined to suggest _Vickers-Armstrong Khyber Mk IV_ or _Vickers-Armstrong East Indiaman Mk IV_ as being the sort of names a company like Vickers-Armstrong would be using in the 1930s to flog a tracked cargo vehicle like the one you describe. The other thing is that itā€™s way too ā€œopenā€ a design for a British tracked cargo vehicle of that period, IMHO; they tended to be enclosed, probably with a funnel sticking out the back (for exhaust), and, if itā€™s a military vehicle, armed with at least two machine-guns. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/58 "2009-02-19T13:20:58Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > As was mentioned upthread, the British Military were not terribly imaginative namers of things. Something like the vehicle in the picture you linked to would probably have a name like _ā€œVehicle, Motorised, Tracked, Vickers-Armstrong Pattern 1931, Mk IVā€_ Have you forgotten the Matildas? ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/59 "2009-02-19T13:24:14Z")
How about the _Vickers-Armstrong Pacaderm MkIV_. Strong, load carrying, and reeking of India and the Empire šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278/60 "2009-02-19T13:52:00Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Have you forgotten the Matildas? As in, _ā€œTank, Infantry, Mk I (II), Matilda (A11/A12)ā€_? That Matilda? You also had the _ā€œTank, Cruiser, Mk VI Crusader (A15)ā€_ and- one of my personal favourites- the _ā€œTank, Infantry Mk VI (A22) Churchill Mk VII Crocodileā€_, which had a flame-thrower mounted in place of the hull machine-gun. If you think all that is confusing, just wait until you get around to the small arms designations. Up until 1926 they followed the ā€œRifle, Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III\*ā€ format (better known as the SMLE) and then they switched to ā€œRifle No. 1, Mk III\*ā€ (same gun, different designation). The ā€œRifle No. 2ā€ was a .22 calibre trainer, and the ā€œRifle No. 3ā€ was the Pattern 1914 Enfield, which has nothing in common with the Lee-Enfield except theyā€™re both .303 calibre bolt-action rifles. The Rifle No. 4 was basically the SMLE with a longer barrel and different sights, and the No. 5 was a carbine version of the No. 4; but the Rifle No. 1 Mk V was a trials version of the SMLE with the No. 4 Lee-Enfield sights on it, and came out about 20 years before the No. 4 was put into production. The Rifle No 1 Mk VI was the prototype version of the No. 4 Lee-Enfield, but the Rifle No. 6 was an Australian version of the No. 5 Jungle Carbine, but made using an SMLE action instead of the No. 4 action. (Confused yet? :)) If that wasnā€™t enough, ā€œPistol, No. 2 Mk I\*ā€ could refer to either the Enfield .38 calibre revolver or the Browning Hi-Power 9mm semi-automatic that were both in service at the time, and the Webley Mk VI revolver was ā€œPistol, Revolver, Webley No. 1 Mk VIā€ (Americans, of course, get confused because to you lot, a ā€œPistolā€ and a ā€œRevolverā€ are completely different things; not in the Commonwealth, though.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imaginative-types-name-needed-for-fictitious-british-cargo-carrier/486278.md?page=4)