Wikipedia:Wikifun/Round 12/Answers/Question 17

Well, all I get do far is that the first three are all british ships: HMS Rattlesnake, HMS Dido, and HMS Leander. As for the Maa (Maa?) ships, there's an HMS Kenya, but that's as close as I can get. Sikyanakotik 02:33, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Two of these links are part of the answer. -- Ravn 10:01, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

I got it! Well, mostly...
Alright, now I think I get it. The numbers are all from the rating system of the Royal Navy. HMS Rattlesnake is sixth-class, HMS Didon is fifth, and most of the HMS Leanders are fourth-rate. I'm guessing the third- and second-rate vessels are both HMS Mars. As for the picture, exactly one first-rate ship article has a picture: HMS Sovereign of the Seas. Therefore the answer is: Sikyanakotik 02:02, 23 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes, almost. I accept the HMS Sovereign, as I haven't been very precise in my question (I was looking for another one, and not necessarily for a picture of a ship. But somehow I forgot to mention that it should be last one left). But the HMS Mars isn't the correct one yet.. -- Ravn 09:29, 23 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Glad to see I'm so close! Realistically, I wasn't expecting Mars to be correct anyway. How about HMS Albion? According to Maa's entry in wiktionary, it can be Finnish for "country", and Albion is an archaic name for Great Britain or England, where all of the above ships are based. Sikyanakotik 19:49, 23 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Maa indeed has a meaning, but it is not "country". There are only two such ships, one of each of the missing grades. -- Ravn 09:55, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

Answer
I might be wrong here, but it's worth a shot. I can't even remember how I got here, but I followed several links connecting several greek gods and goddesses together, and ended up here, at the 'First' --Lightdarkness 04:57, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Nope, sorry. -- Ravn 09:30, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Lion?
A few articles seems to link the word Maa with Lion. Eigth and the sixteenth HMSs Lion were third and second rate ships respectively. Dmn 20:01, 25 January 2006 (UTC)


 * No, that isn't it either. Sorry for the ambiguous hint. As I said, there are only two (notable) ships of that name. -- Ravn 10:55, 26 January 2006 (UTC)


 * There were two HMS's Ganges. One was second-rate, the other third-rate. Ganga "is personified in Hinduism as a goddess: Maa Ganga (Mother Ganga)". Dmn 12:39, 26 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Here we are. -- Ravn 12:51, 26 January 2006 (UTC)