by schneiderman » Sat Aug 18, 2018 11:45 am
It did not necessarily have to start with either letter. Also the 'rule' that flying boats had to be named after British coastal towns, rivers, estuaries etc had become more relaxed and companies could submit other names for approval. Hence Rangoon, Iris, Valkyrie, Sarafand and Sydney.
If it had not proven to be structurally weak maybe the A.33 would have been named Lerwick and with a substantial production contract for that aircraft confirmed the actual Lerwick would never have been designed and built.