The Akira's always struck me as filling the same niche as the old big-gun cruisers and battlecruisers of WWI, WWII, and Korea.
In keeping with the class name, I tend to use Asian and/or Western Pacific names.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...isers_of_Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cruisers_of_Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Thai_Navy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...he_Indian_Navy
That having been said, I want to be there when you tell your crew you decided to name the ship Vikramaditya
Of course, since this is a Thunderchild mod, British cruisers and battlecruisers are an equally good choice:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...the_Royal_Navy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...the_Royal_Navy
For my money, the British Shannon stands out- despite the business with the U.S.S. Chesapeake during the War of 1812. Her captain, Philip Broke was as much scientist as soldier, and brought his ship and crew to an edge of perfection unmatched in that day and era.
Gunnery in that era was primitive: most combatants simply blazed away at their target in hopes of doing as much damage in as short a space of time as possible.
By contrast, the crew of the Shannon were taught to direct concentrated fire at the target's vulnerable areas (notably her rudder, gunports and quarterdeck/bridge) to disable the ship with comparatively "surgical" strikes.