Q&A · 3:51:00-3:54:43

How Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships receive their names

Suggestions for two new Fleet Solid Support ships lead to the RFA convention of names that describe service and sustainment rather than combat.

Question

What should two additional Royal Fleet Auxiliary solid-support ships be named?

Short answer

Retainer is the strongest historical match for Resurgent, while Regent and Resource also suit the RFA's service-oriented naming tradition.

Notes

With Resurgent named as the first ship, Retainer is suggested as a historical companion because the earlier Resurgent belonged to the Retainer class. Regent and Resource also fit the R-name pattern and the auxiliary practice of choosing names associated with service and supply. The earlier ships were designed for the China Navigation Company, became surplus after the Communist victory in 1949, and were bought by the Admiralty for eventual conversion into stores ships. Argus is raised as an exception to the usual distinction between auxiliary and warship names. Her aviation-support role helps explain the choice, while the earlier carrier Argus had itself sometimes been treated as an auxiliary.