London, England -- What sailors would want to go
to war on ships named Norfolk and St. Albans, when they could steam into battle
on a Dreadnought or Enforcer?
The answer is perfectly clear to some sailors from the good ship Brave, who
have written an anonymous letter to The Navy News complaining about "soft"
names turning up on warships, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.
Most British frigates have place names like Norfolk and Westminster. New ships
named Ocean, Albion and St. Albans prompted the letter.
"This has got to stop," the letter said. "It's bad for morale
and presents a poor impression on overseas visits."
The writers said their own Brave was one very few warships that sounded "tough
as nails," and they approved of the existing Boxer and Iron Duke, the report
said.
The sailors were encouraged that some planned frigates are likely to be in a
class called Daring.
"We recommend Dreadnought, Dauntless, Dominant, Devastation, Defender,
Dragon, to be followed by the second batch of E Class -- Excalibur, Enforcer,
Emperor, Endeavour, Exultant and Extreme," the letter reportedly said.
A navy spokesman denied the names in current use were soft, the newspaper said.
It also pointed out that if the sailors of the Brave thought warship names sounded
boring or soft, they should consider the tugs and tankers blessed with such
names as Florence, Myrtle, Sheepdog and Ladybird.