One account connects the nickname to a destroyer limited to 31 knots by a boiler problem during the Battle of Cape St. George. Mechanical questions and variant details make a simple version of that story difficult to accept without qualification. Another account has a superior ask what Burke was doing in a Japanese minefield and receive the reply '31 knots.' That version also reflects a period belief among some destroyer officers that a sufficiently fast bow wave might help a ship pass through mines. The minefield version is preferred because it fits Burke's irreverence, although neither origin story is certain.
Notable Point · 1:00:44-1:04:00
Why '31-Knot Burke' has competing origin stories
Competing boiler-brush and Japanese minefield stories show why even famous naval nicknames need source criticism.