# USS Abraham Lincoln **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359 "2026-08-15T21:31:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/422 "2026-08-22T18:13:03Z")
I agree with your sentiments. I knew who Dorie Miller was mainly because the barracks I lived in while attending A-school was named after him. He was in _Tora! Tora! Tora!_ long before that wretched Michael Bay feature, something like a three-second shot of him firing a Ma Deuce with no dialog IIRC but the actor got a screen credit Unfortunately, as the second link (“continued intermittently”) above points out it’s a navy tradition to suck up to Presidents, living and dead. What would tickle me is if the [FF(X)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FF(X)) frigates had six of them named after the original six, _Constitution II_ I suppose. Re: Mitchell, in his report, “Strategical Aspect of the Pacific Problem”, > Of note, Mitchell discounted the value of aircraft carriers in an attack on the [Hawaiian Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Islands "Hawaiian Islands"), believing they were of little practical use because they could not operate effectively on the high seas or deliver “sufficient aircraft in the air at one time to insure a concentrated operation”. So, maybe not him 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/423 "2026-08-22T19:25:06Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’d give that dishonor to Nixon (who served on a Navy ship during WWII but didn’t see action). Compromise: fuck both Reagan and Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/424 "2026-08-22T19:30:09Z")
They should have stuck with naming them with famous battles and historical vessels. Political figures especially are always going to piss somebody off no matter what. _Yorktown, Essex, Coral Sea, Ticonderoga_ etc. “Gerald Ford”? Really?? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/425 "2026-08-22T19:38:47Z")
How about [Richard Best](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Halsey_Best)? The man sunk two Japanese carriers in one day - he deserves _something_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/426 "2026-08-22T19:45:57Z")
Sure, good nom. But @Common_Tater said it best. Battles, Historic ships very good. Politicians, not a great idea. Should really avoid living Politicians. I won’t begrudge Nimitz though. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/427 "2026-08-22T20:13:43Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > They should have stuck with naming them with famous battles… That was the naming scheme for the [_Ticonderoga_-class guided missile cruisers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticonderoga-class_cruiser). These ships had the first iteration of the Aegis combat control system and [AN/SPY-1 phased-array radar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1) that could track hundreds of target simultaneously. In 1988, I attended the commissioning ceremony of the [USS _San Jacinto_ (CG-56)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_San_Jacinto_(CG-56)), which was commissioned right next to its namesake battlefield (the final and decisive battle for Texas independence in 1836). Five or six years later, I participated in an exercise against her (I was on a submarine). She was very good—she somehow abruptly changed course and zigged right after every [exercise] torpedo we shot at her. The “Ticos” were supplemented and ultimately functionally replaced with the [_Arleigh Burke_-class guided missile destroyers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arleigh_Burke-class_destroyer). These also had the Aegis system and newer iteration of the SPY-1D phased array radar. Despite the “destroyer” moniker, these ships were nearly as large and capable as the _Ticonderoga_-class cruisers. The _Arleigh Burke_-class destroyers are named after famous historic naval personnel (including John Paul Jones). Battleships, as the main capital ships of the line at the time, used to be named after states. We don’t build battleships any more, so the _Ohio_-class ballistic missile submarines and _Virginia_-class attack subs are now named after states. The former _Los Angeles_-class attack submarines like I served on were named after cities. Attack submarines used to be named after fish and sea creatures (like the USS _Nautilus_). Admiral Hyman Rickover (father of the nuclear navy) was once asked why that stopped, and he replied only partially facetiously, “Because fish don’t vote.” Basically every new class of ship or submarine typically gets a naming scheme and “theme.” Often interspersed with random exceptions, like the the _two_ submarines that have been named the USS _Hyman G. Rickover_. After the first _Los Angeles_-class sub was named after him, Rickover reportedly remarked sardonically, “It should have been a carrier.” (Despite this, to get a _second_ vessel named after a person after the first one is decommissioned is a great honor.) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/428 "2026-08-22T20:26:43Z")
Ha! Rickover should get a whole thread by hisself. I think they basically forced him to retire after 50 years or something like that, and even then through some jiggery-pokery. Coin collectors sort of have a similar complaint. US coin designs were generic stylized “Liberty” themes. Then they put Lincoln on the penny, in lieu of an American Indian. Washington, Jefferson, and Roosevelt followed. Franklin, never a president, was expunged for the slain JFK. (Many years ago, someone insisted to me that was Truman’s visage on the dime, not Roosevelt. I think he actually wanted to fight me when I insisted, no, that’s FDR. So, alcohol may have been involved, I let it drop. LOL. It does kinda like ole Harry, if you squint, I guess) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/429 "2026-08-22T20:32:03Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Attack submarines used to be named after fish and sea creatures (like the USS _Nautilus_). Admiral Hyman Rickover (father of the nuclear navy) was once asked why that stopped, and he replied only partially facetiously, “Because fish don’t vote.” Also, while its record was quite impressive, the name “USS Cod” doesn’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of one’s enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/430 "2026-08-22T20:33:54Z")
I also feel the name USS _Wahoo_ doesn’t come across as serious, even if it’s a predatory fish species. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/431 "2026-08-22T20:36:13Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > USS _Wahoo_ Commanded by Dudley … (Mush) … Morton no less. Sounds more like the set up for a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/432 "2026-08-22T20:38:00Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Re: Mitchell, in his report, “Strategical Aspect of the Pacific Problem”, > > > Of note, Mitchell discounted the value of aircraft carriers in an attack on the [Hawaiian Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Islands "Hawaiian Islands"), believing they were of little practical use because they could not operate effectively on the high seas or deliver “sufficient aircraft in the air at one time to insure a concentrated operation”. > > So, maybe not him 🙂 To be fair to Mitchell, he wrote that in 1924, at a time when the US Navy had exactly one carrier: the USS Langley, CV-1, was a converted collier carrying about three dozen bi-planes. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/433 "2026-08-22T20:44:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > he name “USS Cod” doesn’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of one’s enemies. Not everyone gets to serve on something like the Hammerhead or the Piranha. Sometimes you’re stuck on the Grouper, the Halibut or the Herring. I see they never made a USS Sardine. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/434 "2026-08-22T20:55:28Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I see they never made a USS Sardine. Nope, but they did do a Grunion and a Sunfish. Which I honestly would prefer over the [L. Mendel Rivers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_L._Mendel_Rivers) in the same class as the latter. [Fuck that guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Mendel_Rivers#Vietnam_War,_and_cover-up_of_My_Lai_massacre). ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/435 "2026-08-22T20:58:36Z")
I dunno. Ask one of the **33** enemy ships sunk by the [USS _Tang_ (SS-306)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tang_(SS-306)) in less than a year in 1944 in the war in the Pacific. The commanding officer got the Medal of Honor for her final combat action, despite the fact that she was struck and sank by one of her own torpedoes during a harrowing battle against a large Japanese convoy. Anyway, a [tang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthuridae) is a small tropical fish. I think they were running out of fish names at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/436 "2026-08-22T21:00:36Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Attack submarines used to be named after fish and sea creatures (like the USS _Nautilus_). Jules Verne? Who’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/437 "2026-08-22T21:01:41Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The commanding officer got the Medal of Honor for her final combat action, despite the fact that she was struck and sank by one of her own torpedoes Defective torpedoes are one of the lesser known aspects of the war. It was a huge scandal at the time. They cost around $10,000 a piece, so the USN decided they didn’t need to be tested. They were wrong. Failing to explode after a direct hit was just one of the major issues, circling back on the submarine was another. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/438 "2026-08-22T21:02:00Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Which I honestly would prefer over the [L. Mendel Rivers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_L._Mendel_Rivers) in the same class. [Fuck that guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Mendel_Rivers#Vietnam_War,_and_cover-up_of_My_Lai_massacre). What an asshole. I’ve heard of the submarine. Didn’t know until now who the namesake was. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/439 "2026-08-22T21:05:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > Attack submarines used to be named after fish and sea creatures (like the USS _Nautilus_). > > Jules Verne? Who’s that? Yes, that was a consideration too, in the case of the USS _Nautilus_. Possibly even the main consideration. I should have picked a better example. How about the USS _Albacore_, the first submarine with a teardrop-shaped hull, on display in Portsmouth, New Hampshire? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/440 "2026-08-22T21:36:36Z")
> [@robby](#): > > > [@Tamerlane](#): > > > > Which I honestly would prefer over the [L. Mendel Rivers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_L._Mendel_Rivers) in the same class. [Fuck that guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Mendel_Rivers#Vietnam_War,_and_cover-up_of_My_Lai_massacre). > > What an asshole. I’ve heard of the submarine. Didn’t know until now who the namesake was. P.S. The USS _L. Mendel Rivers_ (SSN-686) was decommissioned over 25 years ago. Unlike the USS _Hyman G. Rickover_ I think it is exceedingly unlikely there will be a repeat. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359/441 "2026-08-22T21:38:21Z")
How about HMS Snowflake? The Royal Navy in WWII had an entire class of corvettes used in anti-sub warfare on convoy duty that were named after flowers. Sunflower, Snowflake, Gladiolus, Marigold, Hyacinth and Loosestrife, among others were credited with sinking German or Italian subs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-abraham-lincoln/1032359.md?page=23)