Why HMS Eagle might have remained HMS Cochrane

HMS Eagle began as the Chilean battleship Almirante Cochrane before conversion for the Royal Navy. Retaining Cochrane as the carrier's name would have tied the new ship to Thomas Cochrane's reputation for innovation. Early British naval aviation could then have used him as a historical figure around whom to build its identity. Eagle was also an apt name and later became strongly associated with aircraft carriers, so the choice illustrates how ship names can shape institutional memory within a counterfactual.