View source for Lead ship

{{Short description|First of a series or class of ships}}
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| footer = <small>''Left:'' {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}}, lead  of the {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|4}} <br />''Right:'' {{MS|Voyager of the Seas}}, lead ship of the {{sclass|Voyager|cruise ship|4}}</small>
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The '''lead ship''', '''name ship''', or '''class leader''' is the first of a series or [[ship class|class]] of [[ship]]s that are all constructed according to the same [[Naval architecture|general design]]. The term is applicable to [[naval ship]]s and large civilian vessels.<ref>The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices from Leyte Gulf, by David Sears, p. 27, Organization and ships</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120518004210/http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/Pages/USNavyPacificFleetShipsbyClass.aspx#.WnaA2XxG1xA US Navy, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet]</ref><ref>[https://thaimilitaryandasianregion.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/builder-of-us-navys-new-class-aircraft-carrier-looks-towards-lead-ships-upcoming-trials/ Builder of US Navy's new class aircraft carrier looks towards lead ship's upcoming trials]</ref><ref name=":0">[https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/RS22478.pdf Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress, Ronald O'Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs, May 12, 2017]</ref>

Large ships are very complex and may take five to ten years to build. Improvements based on experience with building and operating the lead ship are likely to be incorporated into the design or construction of later ships in the class, so it is rare to have vessels that are identical.

The second and later ships are often started before the first one is completed, launched and tested. Nevertheless, building copies is still more efficient and cost effective than building [[prototype]]s, and the lead ship will usually be followed by copies with some improvements rather than radically different versions. The improvements will sometimes be [[Retrofitting|retrofitted]] to the lead ship. Occasionally, the lead ship will be launched and commissioned for [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] testing before following ships are completed, making the lead ship a combination of template and prototype, rather than expending resources on a prototype that will never see actual use.

==Naming==
Ship classes are typically named in one of two ways; echoing the name of the lead ship, such as the {{sclass|Pennsylvania|battleship}}s, whose lead ship was {{USS|Pennsylvania|BB-38|6}},<ref name=":0" /> and the {{sclass|Olympic|ocean liner|4}}, whose lead ship was {{RMS|Olympic}}, or defining a theme by which vessels in the class are named, as in the [[Royal Navy]]'s {{sclass2|Tribal|frigate}}s, named after tribes of the world, such as {{HMS|Mohawk|F125|6}}. If a ship class is produced for another navy, the first active unit will become the lead ship for that navy; for example, the {{sclass|Oliver Hazard Perry|frigate|2}}<nowiki/>s are known as the {{sclass|Adelaide|frigate|4}} in [[Royal Australian Navy]] service.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=23064 Example of a lead ship announcement from US Navy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629174600/http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=23064 |date=29 June 2011 }}
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/bb38.htm USS ''Pennsylvania'' BB-38] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030416203645/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/bb38.htm |date=16 April 2003 }}

[[Category:Ship types]]