Ship Naming

[deadlock]

Is there any Traveller material that denotes how or where the #rd Imperium get there ship names? For the Solomani, I have come up with the following:

Dreadnought: System names; capitols (domain, sector, and subsector); gods of war
Battleships: planets
Battlecruisers: famous army, marine, and naval personnel
Cruisers: famous wars and battles
Carriers: political leaders of planets
Destroyers: literary heroes and villains
Frigates: * still working on how to name them, but I was contemplating mythical creatures
System Defense Boats: planetary fauna

At the moment, it seems to be a good method for a DM I help when I am asked.

 

[deadlock]

And ship prefixes for Solomani ships? In the 3rd Imperium, it is IMS (Imperial Majestry Ship).

 

[Supplement Four]

Yes, you'll find material on that in the CT books Fighting Ships and Traders & Gunboats. You'll also see info on that in Grand Fleet.

 

[Hemdian]

Is there any Traveller material that denotes how or where the #rd Imperium get there ship names?

I don't think there are rules for the 3I. We have Gionetti class Light Cruisers named after recipients of the SEH, Atlantic class Heavy Cruisers named after various oceans, and the Plankwell class Dreadnaught named after famous Admirals. But just look at the names of the Azhanti High Lightning class Frontier Cruisers (originally Fleet Intuders)! o:

 

[Andrew Boulton]

But just look at the names of the Azhanti High Lightning class Frontier Cruisers (originally Fleet Intuders)! o:

Arbitrary Complication

 

[Jame]

And ship prefixes for Solomani ships? In the 3rd Imperium, it is IMS (Imperial Majestry Ship).

I know that CNS/CNV is Confederation Naval Ship/Vessel (depends on whether you want to use Ship or Vessel for starships).

Perhaps CMS/V is Confederation Merchant Ship/Vessel?

 

[Garyius2003]

If the 3I was really like 21st century America, then large or important ships would be named after powerful pols (nobles) and other vessels would be named for special interest groups or in exchange for political support.

 

[ThunderChilde]

On a simpler, player level, in MTU it is considered very bad luck to change a ship's name. I run a TU where it isn't uncommon for people to respond in an "irrational" way to the vast unknown and thier poor grasp of the science of Star Flight. Even skilled and experienced spacers may have their superstitions. If they didn't, would the stories about the Abyss Rift be known all the back on the Solomani Rim?

 

[Ran Targas]

^ MTU is a little provincial too; rumors and superstitions and harsh opinions abound, often leading to considerable misunderstandings and confusion (all good for the game in my opinion). Ship names aren't necessarily sacred to humaniti but do carry tremendous weight with the MTU's Vargr who tend to anthropomorphize their craft a little more.

As for naming conventions, I would definitely expect the Confed to maximize the propaganda effect when naming ships of the line and the like. Major battles (won) and population centers would be the first on the list with important leaders second (similar to the US model).

For the Imps, I would consider something similar (mostly due to the Solomani influence during the Rule of Man), but the Royal Navy model of naming ships with motivational and energetic adjectives could also be justified. Then again, with a fleet the size of the IN, I could see the small boys being identified just by their hull numbers.

 

[otherles]

Then again, with a fleet the size of the IN, I could see the small boys being identified just by their hull numbers.

I did that in the opening scene of my screenplay project.

I had posted the opening scene and the follow up scene in a forum on a screenwriting site and some idiot thought that "INS T-10392" was a reference to "Imperial standard navigational time" because I used that particular phrase in the scene following the opening scene.

Hollywood...feh!

 

[epicenter00]

Then again, with a fleet the size of the IN, I could see the small boys being identified just by their hull numbers.

IMTU by custom, such ships are named by their first captain/crew. There might be loose traditions for a given class to follow a naming convention given what class their ship is. Such names would be unofficial and wouldn't be recorded officially. Crew, however, might wear caps, patches, or get tattoos of "NS-10291 Swordfish." Popular shipnames would have seen multiple examples over the centuries and it wouldn't even be uncommon for a fleet to have several of the same name (like five patrol boats called "Swordfish" in 44th Corridor Fleet). However, names aren't ever repeated in the same floatilla. In such a case, naval custom would require one of the ships to rename itself in a way decided by the crews of the vessels in question. In most cases, this means they're decided by drinking contests, a hand of cards, duelling between crew champions/captains, or the victor in a barfight between rival crews (which of course, the Marines wait a bit to break up and refer to as "Effeminate Slapfighting").

 

[minipainter]

^ Then again, with a fleet the size of the IN, I could see the small boys being identified just by their hull numbers.

Cannon precedent would argue against that. eg the Gazel class close escort, at 400tons its definatley a small ship but I remember reading a reference somewhere about them being named after the type of animals giving you INS Gazell, INS Antilope, INS Zebra etc.

IMTU the domain that produces the prototype dictates the naming convention used for the class explaining why both Gazel close escorts and Tigress dreadnaughts are named after animals even though they are about as far apart as you can possibly get.
so you might get:
Illesh names after animals - Tigress, Fer de Lance, Gazelle,
Sylea names after People - Plankwell, SEH etc
Antares names after Geographical features - Atlantic,
Vland follows then Royal Navy Inspirational method - Fearless, Intrepid etc.

the rest still need some work from me