What Does "CORVETTE" Actually Mean??
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: The Beautiful Pacific Northwest
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09, '14-'15-'16-'17-'18
Originally Posted by JoshVette
Anybody have a pic of an origional "Corvette"....
.....maybe one flying threw the waters, kicking up some big waves, like smoke off the pavement, blasting some cobras....opps, I mean enemy ships with the guns, while defending the queen.
.....maybe one flying threw the waters, kicking up some big waves, like smoke off the pavement, blasting some cobras....opps, I mean enemy ships with the guns, while defending the queen.
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From: New Jersey
St. Jude Donor '05, '12-'13, '15-'16, '21
Originally Posted by #001 2001 Z06
Yes, the word originated in France.
Corvette: A ship being a flush-decked war-vessel having one tier of guns. A corvette is smaller than a frigate, but larger than a brig. Webster, in his work on Villebon, p. 223, sets forth a 1678 description of a corvette "as a long bark, with a mast and a small fore mast, used with sails or oars, which accompanies the fleet for scouting, bearing messages ..." Webster adds that the corvette "was perfected during the 18th century." We learn from the Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea that while the corvette was originially of French design, it was adopted by the British navy as it was "fast and weatherly".)
Corvettes, were used at the beginning of the 20th century for close in fighting and well as patrolling the coast and inland rivers. The theory at the time, was that bigger was better, hence the Super Battleships came into being and the Corvettes were no longer seen as valuable unitl 1942. Can anyone tell me what the Corvettes were replaced with? Hmm....
June 2, 1952
General Motors executives are formally presented with Harley Earl's proposal for a two-seater sports car. General Motors president Charles Wilson and Chevrolet general manager Thomas Keating approve completing a prototype for the 1953 Motorama. The project is code-named "Opel Sports Car".
September
The Opel project sports car prototype is named Corvette, after a light fast type of World War II warship. The name was suggested by Myron Scott, employee of Campbell-Ewald, Chevrolet's advertising agency. Strong consideration had been given to naming the car "Corvair". Chevrolet executives wanted a "C" word, and rejected 1500 suggestions.
Now you can really fighten your friends and neighbors about how much you know about your, "Corvette."
#001 2001 Z06
Corvette: A ship being a flush-decked war-vessel having one tier of guns. A corvette is smaller than a frigate, but larger than a brig. Webster, in his work on Villebon, p. 223, sets forth a 1678 description of a corvette "as a long bark, with a mast and a small fore mast, used with sails or oars, which accompanies the fleet for scouting, bearing messages ..." Webster adds that the corvette "was perfected during the 18th century." We learn from the Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea that while the corvette was originially of French design, it was adopted by the British navy as it was "fast and weatherly".)
Corvettes, were used at the beginning of the 20th century for close in fighting and well as patrolling the coast and inland rivers. The theory at the time, was that bigger was better, hence the Super Battleships came into being and the Corvettes were no longer seen as valuable unitl 1942. Can anyone tell me what the Corvettes were replaced with? Hmm....
June 2, 1952
General Motors executives are formally presented with Harley Earl's proposal for a two-seater sports car. General Motors president Charles Wilson and Chevrolet general manager Thomas Keating approve completing a prototype for the 1953 Motorama. The project is code-named "Opel Sports Car".
September
The Opel project sports car prototype is named Corvette, after a light fast type of World War II warship. The name was suggested by Myron Scott, employee of Campbell-Ewald, Chevrolet's advertising agency. Strong consideration had been given to naming the car "Corvair". Chevrolet executives wanted a "C" word, and rejected 1500 suggestions.
Now you can really fighten your friends and neighbors about how much you know about your, "Corvette."
#001 2001 Z06
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Originally Posted by JoshVette
Dude, you're killing me!!! 
Was it airplains? can you tell me yes or no, at least?
Was it airplains? can you tell me yes or no, at least?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,094
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Originally Posted by randomus
The Opel sports car that I had looked like a mini Corvette and I'm glad I have the real thing now. 1.9 Liter engine with manually activated flip-up headlights. You had to get a good pull on the headlight lever or else they would only go half-way around and you had to start over.
Here's a picture of one
http://www.opelclub.com/html/2000_omc_picnic.html
Here's a picture of one
http://www.opelclub.com/html/2000_omc_picnic.html
talk about bad cars,damn!
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2001
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What the WWII ones looked liked. Canada used them a lot.
http://www.around.ntl.sympatico.ca/~toby/corvette.html
HMCS Barrie on convoy duty, and characteristically bobbing like a cork in a heavy swell.
Early in World War Two, the German submarine threat was again strong, as it had been in WWI, and the lifeline from North America to Britain was in jeopardy. With the United States neutral, a condition that continued for over two years until December of 1941, it was up to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy to keep the sea lanes safe.
Joseph Schull writes,
"The decision was taken to build a new type of vessel in Canada, specially designed for escort work with the convoys.
"The idea for the vessel had come from the whaling ship. Whales, it had been observed, had characteristics in common with the submarine. They could surface suddenly and make off at high speed. When they dived they turned very quickly under water, and the ships which pursued them had to be able to turn as quickly. They frequented stormy and inhospitable waters and the ships of the hunters had to be seaworthy. Moreover, whaling ships were comparatively cheap and simple to build.
http://www.around.ntl.sympatico.ca/~toby/corvette.html
HMCS Barrie on convoy duty, and characteristically bobbing like a cork in a heavy swell.
Early in World War Two, the German submarine threat was again strong, as it had been in WWI, and the lifeline from North America to Britain was in jeopardy. With the United States neutral, a condition that continued for over two years until December of 1941, it was up to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy to keep the sea lanes safe.
Joseph Schull writes,
"The decision was taken to build a new type of vessel in Canada, specially designed for escort work with the convoys.
"The idea for the vessel had come from the whaling ship. Whales, it had been observed, had characteristics in common with the submarine. They could surface suddenly and make off at high speed. When they dived they turned very quickly under water, and the ships which pursued them had to be able to turn as quickly. They frequented stormy and inhospitable waters and the ships of the hunters had to be seaworthy. Moreover, whaling ships were comparatively cheap and simple to build.
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Verdad Gallardo
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What the Corvette evolved into.
Originally Posted by #001 2001 Z06
MacArthur & John F. Kennedy. 34, 35 & 41. 109.
MacArthur escaped the Philippines in three PT boats during WWII.
#34, 35 & 41(the one his family was on).
JFK, Commanded PT109. This was lost when it was run over by a Japanese Destroyer.
Relevance. This was the replacement for the, "Corvette." We needed a highly armed close support vessel. The PT's were also shipped to Britain and Canada during the war and many others after the war.
They were very fast and heavily armed(mutiple 50's, maybe a 40 mm cannon, rockets, 2-4 torpedoes, depth charges, anything else they stuff on them, etc.). Designed for high speed runs(40kts), close action, shore support, river support, smoke coverage, etc.
The Japanese hated these things in WWII and later developed sub-compacts, high gas prices, financed our government, sold us electronics and bought our golf courses for revenge.
Yet our, "Corvettes," still seem to run circles around the sub-compacts.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Dallas/Grand Prairie Texas
I'm lovin all the history.
So let me get this straight, first we started in the water.......even had a airplane or two in the sky at one point.......but now we're on land, still flying, but trying to stay away from the deep waters so we don't hydra lock???
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 341
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From: Colo Spgs CO
What does "CORVETTE" mean?
Originally Posted by Red_Racer
Is anybody, besides me, glad that we don't drive an "Opel?" 
Interesting to speculate on the effect a name like Opel would have had on the car through the years...
Interesting to speculate on the effect a name like Opel would have had on the car through the years...
Heel & Toe
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 18
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From: Washington
Come visit the Corvette Museum. All the history is there including the history of the crossed flags. Believe originally there was to be an American flag but some copyright laws came into play. And yes, the origin is French and stands for a small, fast fighting vessel.
Guess you don't have to come to the NCM afterall.
Just kidding. Come on down. You'll love it.
Guess you don't have to come to the NCM afterall.
Just kidding. Come on down. You'll love it.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Gilbert, Arizona Currently Own: 1998 Coupe YouTube: My Corvette Life
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,305
Likes: 516
From: Gilbert, Arizona Currently Own: 1998 Coupe YouTube: My Corvette Life