Aircraft Carrier Names

self | November 19, 2001 | Jim Noble

[Jim Noble]

Question for someone more knowledgeable than I:

When did aircraft carriers stop being named after battles (Saratoga, Lexington) and start being named after minor politicians (Stennis, Vinson)?

This question came up in dinner conversation last night, and I haven't been able to find anyone who knows. Thanks.

[Capitalist Eric]

Or, my old boat USS Archerfish SSN-678

[appeal2]

With all due respect Vinson was no minor politician. He is just forgotten. During the pre WWII years he single handedly gotten this country started on re-armament. His only concern was US defense and he was a great Senator like we no longer have. He always put the country ahead of politics.

[Yankee]

Thank you Squid. I misspoke. The ship was christened on March 4th, 2001 by Mrs. Nancy Reagan, but not yet commissioned. That is why there is no USS. on that list that I copied. The comments about commisioning were my erroneous remarks. I meant christening.

I found the following on the Web about the ship:

Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) will be the ninth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The ship, currently under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding, was christened on March 4, 2001, and launched six days later. At the time of the christening, Reagan was about 60 percent complete. The ship will undergo another two years of final construction, with delivery to the Navy set for the year 2003.

The remaining work after launching of the ship is what is known as "fitting out".

[Tatze]

The ship will undergo another two years of final construction, with delivery to the Navy set for the year 2003.

Since 9-11, the Navy has requested that the delivery date of U.S.S. Reagan be pushed up, I believe to 6 months (maybe 9 months) from now.

[The Squid]

Yank, Hope I didn't seem to be trying to correct anything you posted, I certainly wasn't. I have some experience as a member of a PRECOM Unit (USS HAYLER DD-997). Does the site you mentioned list a possible commisioning date or a location? I've heard the USS RONALD REAGAN will be headed to the left coast, and I figure the commisioning will be in the Hampton Roads area. I know that the true patriots in California will be delighted to have a ship named for a former governor and absolutely floored at the sight of the USS RONALD REAGAN pierside at North Island. The ship surely has a website and you can probably order a ships ballcap from the PRECOM unit. Now that would look good on the head of any Freeper/Patriot and help out the crew of our flagship the "USS RONALD REAGAN".

[BluH2o]

Thanks for the info ... my brother-in-law was a pilot on the IKE (CVN-69) back in the late '70's.
As a Marine I spent a great deal of time on Navy ships ... but they were amphibious type craft ... LST's, LSD's, and an APA. My BluH2o designation comes from off shore sailing as a civilian ... including a trans-Atlantic this past summer on a 44' ketch rigged sailboat.

[Legion]

LOL - The USS Clinton IS garbage.

[aomagrat]

And don't forget my personal favorite- USS RANGER (CV 61)!

Bump from a Ranger Shipmate 1990 - 1993.

[Yankee]

Thank you for the update. I didn't know that.

I passed the shipyard a few years ago on a vacation, and saw the Truman in what appeared to be a state of near completion. The Reagan was beginning to take shape but was yet unrecognizable as a carrier.

That afternoon, I took a sightseeing boat from downtown Norfolk. They took us up past the Navy base, where we got a good look at all the ships in port. The USS ENTERPRISE was in port, as was the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT. They were both on either side of the same pier. It was an incredible site to see two of them together, even stationary.

I also got to see the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY when it came to New York in 1986 for the Statue Of Liberty Centennial Celebration, as well as the BB-61, the USS IOWA battleship.

Talk about an image of awesome power, the IOWA was all that, and more.

Of course, in their ability to project power and in terms of sheer destructive capability, the aircraft carriers outpaced the battleships and rendered them obsolete. But when one looks at those nine 16 inch guns, obsolescense is the furthest thing from one's mind, I assure you.

[Yankee]

Brother Freeper, I would never take offense when someone correctly points out that I've made a mistake.

I've been known to do a bit of correctin' myself, when the situation warrants.

There was no commisioning date given. A different site said 2003, however another FReeper, Tatze, said (post#64 above) that the date has been moved up, since the events of 9/11, to perhaps 6-9 months from now.

You can bet the farm, that I'll be getting myself a cap, both to honor the ship, and the greatest president in my lifetime. (And to hide my rapidly balding pate as well. LOL).

[fnord]

Somehow I don't think we're going to see a USS William J. Clinton anytime soon.

Garbage scows have names too :-o

[Paleo Conservative]

>>The trend has actually been to name them after major Presidents<<

John F Kennedy? Major!?

How about naming CVN 78, the replacement for the ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) around 2012, GEORGE W. BUSH!

[mad_as_he$$]

Nice link thanks.

I don't care what they call them as long as there is always a:

ENTERPRISE.

Which by the way if you take a moment - I noticed that the new Star Trek show doesn't have a CVN Enterprise in the opening credits.

Might be something that Mr. Pillar needs to hear from Freep someday.

[mad_as_he$$]

BTW the Iowa is now moored near the mothball fleet in Benica, CA. I stop an honor her evertime I go by. Sad that such a great ship has to rot in the communist State of Kalifornia.

[catpuppy]

Carl Vinson's service in the House of Representatives exceeds that of anyone elected to the Congress of the United States since it first convened in 1798. During his unparalleled tenure of fifty plus years, he also completed a record breaking twenty-nine years as Chairman of the House Naval Affairs and Armed Services Committee. In that position, Congressman Vinson forged and moved through Congress the landmark Vinson-Trammel Act which provided authority for the eventual construction of ninety-two major warships, the birth of the two ocean Navy. From Capitol Hill, he also guided the establishment of a separate air academy and the launching of the Navy's first nuclear powered submarine. Stating that, "The most expensive thing in the world is a cheap Army and Navy," Congressman Vinson became a powerful force in the growth of America's land, sea and air forces. His skilled legislative abilities assisted in the creation of the Army Air Corps, the improvement of aviator and aircraft procurement, and the pre-World War II expansion of the Navy's air arm.

From cvn70.navy.mil

Anybody still think he was just a run-of-the-mill nobody? If so, consider that in 1952 when asked if he would like to become Secretary of Defense in the incoming Eisenhower Administration, he replied, "No, I'd rather run the Pentagon from here." And he did.

[Fulbright]

Yeah, JFK was a major President. I hate to be the one to break the news to you.

[Jim Noble]

Mr. Vinson was undoubtedly a friend of the Navy, for which he should be greatfully remembered.

But I don't think that Congressmen, however accomplished, belong on the same list with Lexington, Saratoga, and the Coral Sea.

Undoubtedly they wish they did, which accounts for the decline in naming practice-but that's not the same thing. Thanks for the info on Vinson.

[Jim Noble]

>> Yeah, JFK was a major President<<

On what grounds?