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HMS Dainty
Aft view of Daring-class destroyer HMS Dainty (D108), 22 October 1964
(Imperial War Museum)

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From Vindictive to Dainty

The Extremes of Royal Navy Ship Names
By Scot Christenson
August 2022
Naval History Magazine
Article
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The British Royal Navy is steeped in tradition and history. Its mighty fleets were the envy of the world and enabled Great Britain to run a global empire for centuries. Its ships sailed the oceans with striking names that projected qualities to inspire crews and intimidate enemies—names such as HMS Vengeance, Fearless, Vindictive, Repulse, and Spiteful. What young sailor would not be proud to serve on ships named HMS Battleaxe or Gladiator? The revolutionary HMS Dreadnought had a bold name that was so effective it was used to refer to all similar battleships that were modeled after her. Royal Navy ship names had such an air of confidence that they could be perceived as arrogant—so much so that there was actually a class of Arrogant cruisers.

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Scot Christenson

Scot Christenson is the director of communications for the U.S. Naval Institute. He began his career as a television producer and journalist before going on to develop and manage media strategies for a wide range of organizations, including amusement parks, zoos, think tanks, and lobbying firms. He has written about history and pop culture for several periodicals. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

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