(Pronounced Sala-Din): Presumably named after the 12th century sultan, whose proper name was Salah ud-Din. Originally of Kurdish descent he was a major participant in many campaigns including the early Crusades, and fought to hold Palestine from the Christians. As he was an honourable and noble opponent he was greatly admired by King Richard The Lion Heart of England. In 1175 Saladin became a Sultan ruler of Syria and Egypt.

(Pronounced Her-Meez): Hermes was a Greek God and son of Zeus. By the Romans he was called Mercury. In legend Zeus became enchanted by the young Hermes' ability at playing the lyre. Adorning him with a winged cap and winged shoes he was appointed as 'Messenger of The Gods'. Some of his notable tasks include slaying the monster called Argus, and guiding intrepid heroes and adventureres who had lost their way, and he was also appointed with leading the souls of the dead to the underworld.

(Pronounced Tollemmee): There have been various figures called Ptolemy over history, such as multiple Egyptian kings. But it is my opinion that Ptolemy Class is named after the Ptolemy whose full name was Claudius Ptolemaeus - being a famous Greek Astronomer of the 2nd century AD. He lived to be 78 years old and lived in an observatory in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. His life's great achievement was the completion of the book The Almagest which means 'the greatest'. It was a vast collection of all that was known about astronomy and trigonometry. It was so advanced and comprehensive for its time that it would be 1,400 years before any further advance was made to any of his theories within the tome. The Ptolemaic System of the Earth being at the centre of the universe, with the sun, moon, and planets circling it comes from Ptolemy. It wasn't until Copernicus came along in the 16th century that this was finally challenged.

(Pronounced Oh-Berth): Hermann Oberth, born in 1894, was a pioneer in the field of rocketry. With various colleagues at the time, including Wernher von Braun, he begun a series of experiments with liquid propelled rockets, and their efforts attracted the interest of the German military who decided the technology could be adapted to deliver long range missiles. This illustrious group of rocket experts were forced to develop weapons for the Nazis, and from this came the V1 and V2 rockets, of which the latter had a range of 200 miles.

(Pronounced Mer-randa): Miranda was a heroine from the Shakespeare tale The Tempest, and was daughter to Prospero. The fifth moon of the planet Uranus was also named Miranda, discovered by Gerard Kuiper in 1948.

(Pronounced Soi-yooz): Soyuz was an early type of Russian spacecraft which was a direct replacement for the Vostok. The first successful docking and crew transfer between two spacecraft was achieved by the Soyuz 4 and 5 in 1969. A year later cosmonauts Nikolayev and Sevastyanov set a new record for space endurance when they spent 18 days in Earth orbit aboard Soyuz 9.

(Pronounced Eksel-see-or): The word Excelsior originally comes from the Latin Excelsus meaning lofty. So it is generally attributed to mean 'outstanding', 'excellent' or 'higher'. There was also an HMS Excelsior of the British Navy.

(Pronounced Wam-Bun-Doo): The precise origin of the word Wambundu is uncertain. But it is quite possibly named for the African tribe of the Congo, who resided in a small area in the vicinity of the Inkissi river.

(Pronounced Hok-Yoola): The word Hokule'a has its origin in Polynesia. Hokule'a is known to the peoples of this region as 'The Star of Joy' or 'Star of Gladness'. To Hawaiian culture Arcturus is Hokule'a, being the zenith star of Hawaii.

(Pronounced Mur-Sed): There are various regions, rivers and cities called Merced. But the actual origin probably comes from the City of Merced in California, in Merced County located in the San Joaquin valley. The city was founded in 1872, and is home to the Yosemite Wildlife Museum. Merced itself is named for the nearby Merced (Spanish 'mercy') river.

(Pronounced Steem-Runner): As yet I have failed to uncover the origin of the name 'Steamrunner'.

(Pronounced Kye-Meera): The Chimera or 'Chimaera' was a legendary creature of Greek mythology. Breathing fire, it was a mixture of lion, dragon and goat. The Chimera was eventually slain by Bellerophon.

Cheyenne Class

(Pronounced Shy-Ann): This was named for the Native American tribe who resided in present day Minnesota. They were eventually driven from their home by the Sioux and Ojibwa tribes in the late 17th century. They resettled on the Cheyenne river (which now bears their name) in North Dakota, but were again driven out by the Ojibwa which saw them move south into South Dakota. By the mid 18th century they had become one of the most prominent tribes of the western plains. In 1876 Cheyenne and Sioux warriors defeated Custer at Little Bighorn.

(Pronounced Korol-Lyov): Korolev Class is named for Sergei Korolev, an early Russian rocket pioneer who, amongst many other achievments, was behind Sputnik - the first manmade satellite to orbit the Earth, which was launched in 1957.

(Pronounced Ak-Keera): Probably named for the film director Akira Kurosowa, and the series of Japanese animated films.

(Pronounced Promee-theus): One of the Titans, Prometheus was the God of Fire. When he formed the first man from clay, he stole fire from heaven to bring life to him. This incurred the wrath of Zeus, who had Prometheus chained to a mountain, where his liver was devoured each day by vultures, but grew again every night. He was eventually freed by Hercules.