Why Do We Use Champagne When Launching A Ship?

plowter | 19:28 Mon 21st Jan 2013 | History

11 Answers

Why do we use champagne when launching a ship, particularly a warship?
Have we always used champagne?
Why don't we use something more appropriate like navy rum or english gin?

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DTCwordfan

because we were always duffing up the French Navy and champagne was plentiful, the symbolism of the broken bottle being the successful sinking of their vessels and not the new one?

Mamyalynne

Christening a new ship with wine or holy water has obvious religious overtones, but the practice pre-dates Christianity. A Babylonian narrative from the third millennium BC replaces a bottle of Dom with a couple of heifers.

Mamyalynne

http://www.lbc.co.uk/why-do-we-launch-a-ship-by-smashing-a-champagne-bottle-19841

DTCwordfan

Actually it was more connected with the religious blessing of the naming of a ship, holy water and wine being used.

It became more of a secular affair, the person using an expensive cup for drinking out of the vessel as it slid down the launch pad and then spraying the contents over the decks......breaking the bottle across the bow saved the need for the expensive drinking cup, often made of gold.

Mamyalynne

quite right

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12612/why-are-bottles-champagne-smashed-new-ships

Graham-W

Traditionally wine was used in both the UK and USA. France broke no bottle but the priest blessed the ship with Holy Water.
Champagne is the aristocrat of wines, and came into popular use as a "christening fluid" as the 19th century closed.
Because the bottle is pressurised it makes a better display when broken. Our local shipyard (now closed down) used to score the bottles with a glasscutter's blade to ensure the bottle broke first time.

DTCwordfan

My first one was my creative side talking....the faction for the future book!

plowter

Question Author

I suppose you're right, Graham. The champagne is all about the fizz - wouldn't be the same with a bottle of Dandelion and Burdock.

Am sure I remember seeing an old newsreel where they drank a toast from a goblet and threw the rest over the bow.

DTCwordfan

they used to throw the standing cup over the side too....got a bit expensive so they started trying to catch it by a net, before switching to the bow, sometime around when iron and then steel was used, far better for the scoured bottle of fizz.....the Americans I see used water, whiskey, apple cider etc, so it doesn't have to be French pee.