Well they were RAN ships on which Austrlaians served and in some cases died. My dad served on Queenborough, his dad on Stuart (pre-war) and his uncle on Napier. These names have history and it could be argued are more deserving of use than some others doing the rounds. At least we don't partake in the political games that are behind the naming of many USN ships, imagine having the LHDs named after former PMs?
Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates
- Thread starter icelord
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Maybe to you but you're not Australian.
I am and I agree with him. I find the current naming of the Colins class quite uninspiring. Even the naming of the ANZAC's is a ad hoc mess with no real tread.
I'm Anglo-Australian, and I've been to Ballarat! Give me the 'V' names any day of the week, but that's just my opinion.
I don't meant to demean the history of those ships but all things are relative. It’s not as if HMA Ships Ballarat (I) and Armidale (I) didn't see any wartime service. War history plus local community connection is higher than just war history. For any navy that has to go through some form of contraction this is going to be a natural. The same for Army units and Air Force squadrons.
Though the RAAF seems to be onto something giving lots of ground based units old WWII squadron identities. Maybe the future multiple crews for the SEA 1180 boats can be named for Alphabet ships that are unlikely to get another commission. Rather than this Attack 2 and Assail 1 stuff they can be Quality, Nestor, Orion, etc in Q, N, O, S Divisions and so on. With 30 crews you can throw in all the A/B names from the first PBs.
I would be happy if there were some logic to it. look at the river names, they are spread between MWV and Anzac's, then you have the battle names spread between Amphibs and Anzacs while there are also city names in the mix.
For destroyers and escorts the V and river names have quite a history and retention by class would be nice, however some logic to the naming process would be great.
From a servicemans point of view a destroyer named Vampire is a hell of a lot more appealling than Albury.
For destroyers and escorts the V and river names have quite a history and retention by class would be nice, however some logic to the naming process would be great.
From a servicemans point of view a destroyer named Vampire is a hell of a lot more appealling than Albury.
Who decides, the Navy, Parliament? Why not let the RSL's vote on a list of names based on some historical context (battle honors, maritime VC holders, previous ships of worth).
Not a bad idea, the other thing is the 20 OCVs, assuming they are built in groups or batches relating to role they would be the perfect place to use the famous alphabet names, they will likely be as large or larger than the destroyers they would be named for.
Not a huge fan of name of officers etc,hence my issue with the subs. Having the main city names, which have a long RAN history, covering main fleet units (AWD and LHD with curiser names, notng 4 AWD would help) with the other River, Tribal and V dealing with batches or classes always appealed to me................ however in current circumstances this is not going to happen as the naming convention is so mixed.
Australia doesn't have any maritime VC holders though not due to any lack of deeds that should have earned one, Sheean, Rankin and Waller are each named after individuals who likely would have received the VC had they been in the RN rather than the RAN.
Having attended a couple of quite messy RSL functions letting them select the names could be very entertaining.
True - you might end up with names like: XXXX, Bundy and Toohey
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Maybe i dont explain well, "scalable" i am using it to refer the growth possibilities of a design. Like the Nansen frigates, or "scaled up", the F100 or Awd.
Of course i have no idea, i am just an armchair admiral.:flash
StevoJH
The Bunker Group
I like names like Vampire and Vendetta, as they are very aggressive and give hints at the ships role.
However i'm not so sure about naming a current serving ship a name like Onslow or Vampire when the previous ship is still afloat (even though no longer in the navy). And changing the name of the HMAS Vampire would in my eyes, be disrespecting the many years of service it provided (plus they'd need to replace all the gun covers etc).
And then you have names like Voyager which wasn't exactly involved in one of the RAN's proudest moments (no insult or disrespect intended to any of her former crew).
Edit: Also, was there any thought to naming the first of the LHD's (as presumably fleet flagship) HMAS Australia?
However i'm not so sure about naming a current serving ship a name like Onslow or Vampire when the previous ship is still afloat (even though no longer in the navy). And changing the name of the HMAS Vampire would in my eyes, be disrespecting the many years of service it provided (plus they'd need to replace all the gun covers etc).
And then you have names like Voyager which wasn't exactly involved in one of the RAN's proudest moments (no insult or disrespect intended to any of her former crew).
Edit: Also, was there any thought to naming the first of the LHD's (as presumably fleet flagship) HMAS Australia?
Or current MPs who head committees.
Shouldn't name a ship after anyone until they're safely dead.
StevoJH
The Bunker Group
And preferrably long dead.Or current MPs who head committees.
Shouldn't name a ship after anyone until they're safely dead.
Ozymandias
Banned Member
They won't to avoid the bad press if and when anti-ship cruise missiles send Australia to the bottom of the Pacific.
Being American, I prefer naming ships after states, cities-both large and small, counties, mountains, bays, capes, points, rivers, battles, and navy heroes... But I don't mind presidents as much as naming ships with a letter which the British somehow prefer over heroes... Former Admiral Rickover, the father of America's nuclear propelled submarine navy, preferred states and cities over fish because fish don't vote...
You can't use names of ships still afloat.
As for people thinking Ballarat isn't a fearsome name, you should go drinking in some of the more illustious places there.
HMAS Australia is a pretty special name. I say we save that one for a special ship. No doubt it was concidered, but ruled out...
As for people thinking Ballarat isn't a fearsome name, you should go drinking in some of the more illustious places there.
HMAS Australia is a pretty special name. I say we save that one for a special ship. No doubt it was concidered, but ruled out...
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