List of warships by nickname

The following is a list of warships listed by nickname. See below for a key to abbreviations.

A

• "Abe" — USS Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln is often informally referred to as "Abe"
• "Ageless Warrior" — USS Coral Sea
• "Aggie" — HMS Agamemnon
• "Aggie on Horseback" — HMS Weston-Super-Mare; nickname named for Agnes Weston, a temperance and sailor's advocate; "on horseback" is a jocular mistranslation of Latin "super-mare" ("on the sea"), "mare" being equated with a female horse
• "'A Gin Court" — HMS Agincourt; Battleship seized from Turkey in 1914; because of its luxurious Turkish outfit
• "Algonquatraz" — HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283)
• "'Am and Tripe" — HMS Amphitrite; humorous malapropism
• "America's Favorite Carrier" — USS Carl Vinson
• "Angry Cat" — French ship Henri IV; named so by the British, a play on the pronunciation of "Henri Quatre"
• "Archdeacon" — HMS Venerable; a play on the phrase "venerable archdeacon"
• "Athabee" — HMCS Athabaskan (DDG 282)

B

• "Battle Cat" — USS Kitty Hawk
• "Battle Schmoozer", "Belcrash" — USS Belknap; reference her collision with the USS Kennedy in 1975
• "Big Ben" — USS Franklin; the ship is named after Benjamin Franklin
• "Big D" — USS Dallas; Given to the ship to denote being named in honor of the city of Dallas.
• "The Big E" — USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
• "The Big J" — USS New Jersey
• "Big John" — USS John F. Kennedy
• "Big Lizzie" — HMS Queen Elizabeth
• "Big Mamie" — USS Massachusetts
• "The Big Nasty" — USS Nassau
• "The Big Stick" — USS Theodore Roosevelt; based on Theodore Roosevelt's quotation, "Speak softly and carry a big stick". Also used for the USS Iowa for its role as the Big Stick of the Pacific during most of the naval battles it participated in.
• "Big Gray Deuce" — USS Essex; humorous malapropism
• "Billy Ruffian" — HMS Bellerophon; humorous mispronunciation
• "The Black Dragon" — USS New Jersey
• "The Blue Ghost"— USS Lexington (CV-16); nickname supposedly bestowed by Japanese radio propagandist Tokyo Rose because of the color of her camouflage painting and because she repeatedly disproved reports that she had been sunk
• "Bonnie" — HMCS Bonaventure
• "Building (hull number)" — a U.S. Navy joke about ships that don't go to sea much.
  • "Building 575" — USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
  • "Building 597" — USS Tullibee (SSN-597)
  • "Building 21" — USS Seawolf (SSN-21)
  • "Building 11" — USS Coronado (AGF-11)
• "The Big Risk" — USS Oriskany (CV-34)
• "Bag Lady" — USS Bagley (FF-1069); humorous malaproprism
• "Berzerkly" — USS Berkeley (DDG-15); humorous malaproprism
• "Broke" — USS Brooke (FFG-1); humorous malaproprism

C

• "C-ville" — USS Chancellorsville
• "Cannabis" — USS Canopus; humorous malapropism
• "Can Opener" — USS John F. Kennedy, after collision with USS Belknap
• "Century One" — HMS Centurion; humorous malapropism
• "Christmas Anthem" — HMS Chrysanthemum; humorous malapropism
• "Chuckie V" — USS Carl Vinson
• "Cocoa Boat" — HMS Curacoa; humorous malapropism
• "Connie" — USS Constellation; diminutive of ship's name
• "The Count" — USS Comte de Grasse; named for Comte de Grasse (French, "Count de Grasse"), an ally of the Americans in the American War of Independence
• "Curious" — HMS Furious
• "Cellblock 70" — USS Carl Vinson; humorous reference to restricted liberty for crew after incidents in Bremerton, WA, in the mid-1980s.

D

• "Despair Ship Remorse" — HMS Resource; humorous malapropism on "Repair ship Resource"
• "Decrepit" — USS Intrepid
• "Dirty Cush" — USS Cushing
• "Dirty Two-Thirty" — HMCS Margaree (DDE 230) (decommissioned); from her hull number.
• "Dirty V" — USS Carl Vinson; humorous malapropism
• "Dreado" — HMS Dreadnought; diminutive of ship's name
• "Dull Ass" — USS Dallas; humorous malapropism
• "Dickover"-USS Hyman G. Rickover
• "Dickey B"—USS Richard B. Russell (SSN-687)
• "Dry I" — USS Intrepid

E

• "Eggshells" — HMS Achilles; humorous malapropism
• "Enterprison" — USS Enterprise; humorous malapropism
• "Evil I" — USS Intrepid
• "Exploder" — HMS Explorer; experimental & temperamental submarine fitted with dangerous hydrogen peroxide propulsion system.

F

• "The Fightingest Ship in the RCN" — HMCS Haida; gained this moniker by reason of sinking 14 enemy ships during patrols in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay; she also sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian ship
• "The Fighting G" — HMS Gloucester
• "The Fighting J" — HMS Jamaica
• "The Fighting I" — USS Intrepid
• "The Fighting Lady" — USS Yorktown
• "The Five Mile Sniper" — HMAS Brisbane
• "Flatiron" — HMS Argus; from the shape of the ship
• "Forrest Fire" "FID (First in Defense" — USS Forrestal; humorous malapropism, also because of the fire on deck.
• "Fraser Blade" — HMCS Fraser
• "Fleet Starship" — USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
• "The Furry Wet Mound" — USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986), humorous malapropism

G

• "Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast" — USS Houston
• "George's Legs" or "Gorgeous Legs" -- French light cruiser Georges Leygues
• "Germanclown" — USS Germantown (LSD-42)
• "Ghetto" — USS Gato
• "Gipper" — USS Ronald Reagan; named for Ronald Reagan's nickname, from his role of George "The Gipper" in the film Knute Rockne, All American.
• "Gin Palace" — HMS Agincourt; originally built for Brazilian Navy and given higher standards of comfort for officers, and lesser standards of comfort for the crew than most RN ships. Also a deliberate misspelling of the name: A Gin Court.
• "The Gold Eagle" — USS Carl Vinson
• "The Golden Devil" (Dutch "Den Gulden Duvel") – HMS Sovereign of the Seas
• "The Golden Guad" — USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7)
• "Le Grand Hotel" – French Ironclad Hoche
• "The Grand Old Lady" — HMS Warspite
• "The Gray Ghost" — USS Enterprise (CV-6)
• "The Gray Lady" — USS Lexington
• "Grey Ghost" — USS Pensacola; nickname given by Tokyo Rose
• "Greenpig" —USS Greenling
• "GW" — USS George Washington; initials of the ship's namesake

H

• "Happy Valley" — USS Valley Forge
• "He-Cat" — HMS Hecate; humorous malapropism
• "HMAS Can Opener" — HMAS Melbourne; given by US Navy sailors for the ships part in the sinking of the US Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans.
• HMS Refit - HMS Renown;
• HMS Repair - HMS Repulse
• "Hiroshima" — Soviet submarine K-19, due to a nuclear accident onboard
• "Holiday Express" — USS Bunker Hill
• "Holiday Inn" — USS Bunker Hill
• "HST" — USS Harry S. Truman; initials of the ship's namesake Harry S. Truman
• "Hairy Ass" — USS Harry S. Truman; humorous malapropism
• "Hymi G" — USS Hyman G. Rickover
• "Happy Harry" — USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986)
• "Hotel Yamato" — Japanese battleship Yamato; due to the amount of time spent at Truk between August 1942 and May 1943

I

• "Ike" — USS Dwight D. Eisenhower; based on nickname of namesake, Dwight D. Eisenhower
• "Ikeatraz" — USS Dwight D. Eisenhower; derogatory nickname given to those that served on board and had gotten in trouble in some way.
• "Indy" — USS Independence
• "Iron Duck" — HMS Iron Duke
• "Fighting I" — USS Intrepid
• "Ichiban Benjo Maru" — USS Ajax (AR-6); due to an outbreak of bacillary dysentery that required quarantine

J

• "Jimmy K" — USS James K. Polk
• "Johnny Reb" — USS John C. Stennis

K

• "Kami-ha-ha" — USS Kamehameha; humorous malapropism
• "King of Tomahawks" — USS John Young; probably after the ship's BGM-109 Tomahawk weapons system, or "The John Bone" humorous malapropisms
• "Shitty Kitty" — USS Kitty Hawk; humorous malapropism ^[1]
• "Knockwood" — USS Lockwood

L

• "Lady Lex" — USS Lexington
• "Lady Lou" — USS Louisville
• "Long Delayed" — HMAS Adelaide; rhyming play on ship's name. Fitting out and completion of the ship were delayed (almost 3 years) due to the loss of important machinery parts, as a result of enemy action, which gave rise to the nickname.
• "The Lord's Own" — HMS Vengeance; derived from the phrase "The Lord's own vengeance", based on the sentiment of Romans 12:19
• "Lost and Confused" — USS Lewis and Clark
• "Lucky A" - USS Alabama
• "Lucky E" - USS Enterprise
• "Lucky 26" — HNoMS Stord
• "Lusty" — HMS Illustrious

M

• "Maggie" — HMS Magnificent; HMCS Magnificent
• "The Mighty Hood" — HMS Hood
• "Mighty O" — USS Oriskany
• "Mighty Y" — USCGC Yakutat
• "Mighty Mo" — USS Missouri
• "Mighty Moo" — USS Cowpens
• "Mobile Chernobyl" — USS Enterprise
• "Moskvitch" — Finnish navy Tuima class missile boats. Soviet-built Moskvitch cars had notoriously poor reputation in Finland.
• "Motel 6" — USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6)

N

• "Nasty Asty" — USS Astoria
• "Nelly" — HMS Nelson - also "Nelsol" — from fleet oilers with names ending in 'ol' that the Nelson class looked similar to in silhouette.
• "Niffy Jane" — HMS Iphigenia
• "NO Boat" — USS New Orleans
• "Northo" — HMS Northumberland

O

• "O'Broken" — USS O'Brien
• "The O-Boat" — USS Oriskany
• "Old Bones" — Japanese battleship Kongō
• "Old Formy" — HMS Formidable
• "The Old Grey Ghost of the Borneo Coast" — HMS Albion^[2]
• "Old Ironsides" — USS Constitution^[3]
• "The Old Lady" — HMS Warspite, from a comment by Viscount Cunningham;^[4] impressed by the vintage ship's speed during a mission to aid the British Army in Sicily, Cunningham remarked, "When the old lady lifts her skirts she can run."^[5]
• "Old Salt" — USS Nimitz
• "One-Eye" — HMS Polyphemus; Polyphemus was a cyclops in Greek mythology
• "Orjalaiva Kurjala" — Finnish Navy corvette Karjala. The word orjalaiva means slave ship in Finnish, while Kurjala references the Finnish word kurja ("miserable").
• "Outrageous" — HMS Courageous;^[6] humorous malapropism
• "The Oki Boat" — USS Okinawa

P

• "Pepper Pot" — HMS Penelope - while docked in Valletta harbour, during the Siege of Malta, she was bombed so much she resembled a pepper pot
• "Pierwolf" — USS Seawolf
• "The Pool" — HMS Liverpool
• "Proud Pete" — USS Peterson; play on "Pete" as a diminutive of "Peterson", and on the ship's motto, "Proud Tradition"
• "Prune Barge" — USS California^[7]
• "Puffington" — HMS Effingham
• "Puuhamaa" — Finnish navy minelayer Pohjanmaa. An ironical remark of Puuhamaa amusement park.
• "Sweet Pea" — USS Portland

Q

"Queer Barge" — uss Kearsarge

• "Queerfish" — USS Queenfish
• "Quiet Warrior" — USS Spruance

R

• "The Red-Eye" — HMCS Huron (DDG 281) (decommissioned); so named for the tobacco flower blossom on the ship's badge.
• "Refit" — HMS Renown
• "Repair" — HMS Repulse
• "Rezzo" — HMS Resolution
• "Rough Rider" — USS Theodore Roosevelt
• "Rodnol" — HMS Rodney - from fleet oilers with names ending in 'ol'
• "Ruosteensilmä" — Finnish Navy minelayer Ruotsinsalmi. The name means Rusty Eye in Finnish.
• "Rusty-guts" — HMCS Restigouche
• "Rusty W" — USS Washington

S

• "Sara", :Super Sara", "Sorry Sara", "Sister Sara", "Stripe-Stack Sara", or "Sara Maru" — USS Saratoga
• "Saggy Pants" — HMCS Saguenay
• "Sally Rand" — HMCS St. Laurent (DDH 205) (decommissioned) nickname of several ships which have been named St. Laurent, of which HMCS St. Laurent DDH 205 was the most recent.
• "San Francisco's Own" — USS Carl Vinson
• "Seapuppy" — USS Seawolf
• "Shall Not Perish" — USS Abraham Lincoln
• "Shiny Sheff" — HMS Sheffield
• "Shitty Kitty" — USS Kitty Hawk
• "Showboat" — USS North Carolina
• "Slack Jack" — USS John F. Kennedy
• "Smiley" — USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) - nickname of former US President Carter
• "The Smoke" — HMS London
• "Sodak" — USS South Dakota
• "USS Spring-a-leak" — USS Springfield (CLG-7) - for her alleged degraded engineering condition near the completion of her final deployment as Sixth Fleet Flagship (over 3 years)
• "Spurious" — HMS Furious
• "Starship Vinson" — USS Carl Vinson
• "Steel Cat" — HMAS Brisbane
• "Stinkin Lincoln" — USS Abraham Lincoln
• "Suckin' 60 From Dixie", or "Suckin' Sara" — USS Saratoga
• "Surunmaa" — Finnish navy corvette Turunmaa. Literally "land of sorrow".
• "Swayback Maru" — USS Salt Lake City
• "Stressex" — USS Essex; humorous malapropism
• "Steamin' Deuce" — USS Essex; humorous malapropism
• "Slimey Lymie" — USS Lyman K. Swenson
• "Saint Pauline" — USS Saint Paul; Humorous malapropism
• "The Stain" — USS Stein
• "Special K" — USS Kawishiwi

T

• "T2" — USS Tullibee - This nickname was used to identify the second ship named Tullibee (SSN 597) from the first Tullibee (SS 284).
• "T.R." — USS Theodore Roosevelt
• "Tea Boat" — HMS Ceylon
• "Tea Chest" — HMS Thetis
• "Teacup" — USS Tecumseh
• "Tico" — USS Ticonderoga
• "Tiddly Quid" — HMS Royal Sovereign. Both quid and sovereign are synonymous to pound sterling.
• "Tin Duck" — HMS Iron Duke
• "Three-Quarter Mile Island" — USS Enterprise (CVN-65) (a pun on Three Mile Island)
• "The Toothless Terror" — HMS Scylla
• "Toasted O" — USS Oriskany
• "Traffie" — HMS Trafalgar
• "Trawler Mauler" — HMCS Nipigon - stems from an incident in the late 1980s when Nipigon sank a civilian fishing trawler for being a hazard to shipping
• "Tullibeast" — USS Tullibee
• "The Tartan Terror" — HMAS Stuart
• "Tottenham" — HMS Hotspur. After football team Tottenham Hotspur.
• "Tupperware" — HMS Wilton. First warship to be constructed from Glass-reinforced plastic.
• "Tuska class" — Finnish navy Tuima class missile boats. Tuska means "agony" in Finnish.
• "Tortanic" — USS Tortuga (LSD-46)

U

• "Uproarious" — HMS Glorious

V

• "VDQ" — NCSM Ville de Québec. Note that as a designated French-language unit, she properly uses the title Navire canadien de Sa Majesté (NCSM), which is the French translation of Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS)).
• "Von Stupid" — USS Von Steuben
• "Vince" — HMS Invincible
• "Vinny" — USS Vincennes (CA-44)

W

• "Weavy" — USS West Virginia
• "Wet Ass Queen" — HMCS Wetaskiwin
• "Winter Pig" — HMCS Winnipeg
• "Wisky" — USS Wisconsin

Y

• "The Y" — USCGC Yakutat

Z

• "Zippo" — USS Forrestal

Abbreviations

• NCSM — "Navire canadien de Son/Sa Majesté"; applied to Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces vessels designated as French-language units.
• HMAS — "His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship"; applied to Royal Australian Navy vessels
• HMCS — "His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship"; applied to Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces vessels
• HMNZS — "His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship"; applied to Royal New Zealand Navy vessels
• HMS — "His/Her Majesty's Ship"; applied to Royal Navy vessels
• USS — "United States Ship"; applied to United States Navy vessels

See also

• List of nicknames of British Army regiments
• Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
• Nicknames of U.S. Army divisions
• Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

References