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Exeter
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30.11.2003 15:58:47
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Современность; Флот;
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"Queen Elizabeth" и "Prince of Wales"
Итак, окончательно выбраны названия для двух будущих больших британских авианосцев программы CVF - "Queen Elizabeth" и "Prince of Wales". Выбор сделан лично ЕВ.
Вот статья из "The Times".
Особенно прикольны некоторые из вариантов, предлагавшихся комитету :-)))
Prince of Wales defeats Galaxy Blaster
By Michael Evans, Defence Editor
IN THE finest tradition of the Royal Navy, the two large aircraft carriers that are to replace today’s three smaller warships from 2012 are to be named HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
After months of detailed study by a special committee that examined a long list of suggested names, including a number of instantly rejected ideas — such as HMS Millennium Falcon, HMS Death Star and HMS Galaxy Blaster — the Queen is understood to have given her approval for her own name and that of her son and the heir to the throne to grace the hulls of what will be the biggest warships built in this country.
It is the ultimate accolade for the Navy. The carriers, planned to be between 50,000 and 60,000 tonnes, will also bear the same names as two famous wartime battleships, one of which, HMS Prince of Wales, was sunk by the Japanese on December 10, 1941, with the loss of 327 men.
The other battleship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, fought in the great battle at Jutland in the First World War and was severely damaged in the Second World War by an Italian commando raid launched from a submarine in Alexandria. She survived, was repaired and was eventually sold and dismantled in 1948.
The two new carriers, first announced by the Government in 1998, are intended to be at the heart of Britain’s new-style expeditionary warfare strategy, offering two huge platforms — twice the size of the present Invincible-class carriers — for land-attack and maritime operations. The carriers will be called the Queen Elizabeth class, and the first warship will be HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The recommendation to give the first carrier the name of the Commander-in-Chief and the second the heir to the throne was made by the Ships’ Names and Badges Committee, which is chaired by Captain Christopher Page, head of the Naval Historical Branch.
The committee’s choice was first passed to Rear-Admiral Nigel Guild, Controller of the Navy, who then sought approval from Admiral Sir Alan West, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, and finally to Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary. Mr Hoon passed the Ministry of Defence’s choice to Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s approval.
The Ships’ Names and Badges Committee considered social trends — and political correctness — as well as more weighty issues such as previous ships of the same name and historical background.
The committee members, who include the naval adviser on heraldry, automatically ruled out a number of previously famous wartime names because of their modern-day connotations — notably the Gay class and Flower class warships.
A defence source said: “The Flower class corvettes of the Second World War (such as HMS Pansy, HMS Meadowsweet, HMS Wallflower, and HMS Periwinkle) were fantastic ships but I think today’s Jack Tar would be less comfortable with a cap badge with the name of a flower on it.”
Among the considerations examined by the committee when it had produced a shortlist were: does the name have a strong Royal Navy tradition; does it have many battle honours; is there a sufficient gap between the paying off or demise of the previous ship of the same name; or is there an unhappy history? A past record of wartime tragedy, however, was definitely not one of the reasons for including a name on the rejected list.
The successors to the wartime HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are still a long way from being built. The total cost, including the 36 Joint Strike Fighters (the Harrier replacements) which are planned for each carrier, is estimated to be Ј12.5 billion. Under present planning, HMS Queen Elizabeth will come into service in 2012 and HMS Prince of Wales in 2015.
Naval ratings
Each carrier will be twice the size of HMS Invincible and will be at the heart of Britain’s new expeditionary warfare strategy
Tonnage: 50,000-60,000
Total aircraft: maximum 50 — 36 Joint Strike Fighters and 14 helicopters
Planned sortie rate: three per aircraft per day
To be based at Portsmouth
Total cost of carriers and aircraft: Ј12.5 billion
Crew: about 600
First steel for hulls to be cut in 2005
To be built in British yards in separate “superblocks”.
Английская "мореманская" общественность, как я понял, не вполне довольна :-))) Многим вообще не нравятся "королевские" названия (мда, гнилые леваки-республиканцы :-))), кроме того некоторых смущает PoW...
Как я понял из дискуссий на британских форумах, названия типа Eagle, Furious, Glorious, Hood, Nelson и т.п. вызывали гораздо больший энтузиазм. Словом, ожидали "нечто более британское", как написал один остроумец :-)))
С уважением, Exeter