The 7th and final Astute-class submarine being constructed for the RN is set to be named HMS Achilles in a change from what had previously been announced, Navy Lookout reports.
Curiously posted on social media on a Sunday night, the RN simply stated the name HMS Achilles has been approved by The King with no mention of the previously stated name. At the time of writing, Agincourt is still listed on the RN website.
The former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson made the announcement that the last of the Astute class SSNs would be named Agincourt as long ago as May 2018. Prior to that, the vessel had been unofficially expected to be named Ajax.
There can be little complaints about ‘HMS Achilles’ as another historic name, derived from Greek mythology. The submarine will be the 7th RN vessel to carry the name, most recently a Leander-class frigate named Achilles served from 1968-90. The most famous HMS Achilles was the Second World War cruiser manned by New Zealand sailors and ultimately transferred to the Kiwis, carrying the HMNZS prefix from 1941-46.
It is unclear why the name change has been made but most speculate that it is to avoid “offending the French”. The battle of Agincourt in 1415 saw a much smaller English and Welsh army defeat the French army with the innovative use of longbows.
Avoiding ship names that commemorate past triumphs over friends who were once enemies is something of a slippery slope. The RN has a very long and distinguished history of roundly defeating many of the countries that are now close NATO allies. HMS Nelson, (shore establishment in Portsmouth) commemorates Britain’s greatest admiral, who spent his life fighting and beating the French and Spanish. His finest and final hour came at the battle at Trafalgar (Incidentally, the name of a submarine class, the last of which was only decommissioned last year). The defeat of the French fleet off the Spanish coast in 1805 was the foundation for more than 100 years of British global naval supremacy. Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, is still a commissioned RN vessel, one of the world’s most revered museum ships.
HMS Anson (Astute-class boat 5) is named after Admiral George Anson whose career involved battles that resulted in Spanish and French defeats. HMS Iron Duke is named after the Duke of Wellington who’s army ended French dominance of Europe at the battle of Waterloo. Even HMS Achilles is synonymous with a German defeat when the cruiser of that name was one of three much smaller ships that fought in the Battle of the River Plate which resulted in the destruction of the pocket battleship Graf Spee.
Changing the name of a ship or submarine is traditionally seen by sailors as “unlucky”. Boat 7 was never formally named or commissioned before being renamed so maybe such superstitions will be null and void, although…
More seriously it is believed sections of HMS Achilles may have been damaged by the fire that broke out on 30th October 2024 in the Devonshire Dock Hall at Barrow in Furness. Neither BAE Systems or the MoD will confirm if there will be delays to the submarine construction programme. Unverified reports say the fire started in portable equipment being used in the hall but spread to adjacent stored anechoic tiles and then to the hull of boat 7. How serious the damage was, if at all, is unclear. HMS Dreadnought also currently under construction in the DDH is believed to be unaffected.
