Deutsche Forschungsschiffe und ihre Namen. T. 2, Anmerkungen zu den Namen und ihren Hintergründen

Abstract

In Part 1 of these observations on German exploration ships, some 170 vessels which have sailed under German flag on rivers, estuaries and the high seas since 1862 were introduced in list form. In this second part, the names of the ships listed will be explained and classified according to four categories: “superordinate idea” (Group I), “reference to region / branch of research” (Group II), “adopted with the vessel” (Group III) and “tradition” (Group IV). Insight is provided into the circumstances surrounding the respective naming, to the extent known. These background contexts range from obeisance to the emperor and lofty scientific goals and working methods to the nicknames of institute directors. A table shows the number of ships in each name group in relationship to the periods of German research navigation explained in Part 1. In the period before World War II, names adopted with the vessel were in the majority, whereas since the war names bearing reference to regions or research branches have made up the largest share. The custom of naming explorations vessels after superordinate ideas played a role for a short time but never gained general acceptance.