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Aship class is a group ofships of a similar design.[1] This is distinct from a ship type,[1] which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example,USS Carl Vinson is a nuclearaircraft carrier (ship type) of theNimitz class (ship class).
In the course of building a class of ships, design changes might be implemented. In such a case, the ships of different design might not be considered of the same class; each variation would either be its own class, or a subclass of the original class (seeCounty-classcruiser for an example). If ships are built of a class whose production had been discontinued, a similar distinction might be made.
Ships in a class often have names linked by a common factor: e.g.Trafalgar-classsubmarines' names all begin with T (Turbulent,Tireless,Torbay); andTiconderoga-classcruisers are named after American battles (Yorktown,Bunker Hill,Gettysburg,Anzio). Ships of the same class may be referred to assister ships.
The name of a naval ship class is most commonly the name of thelead ship: the first ship commissioned or built of its design. However, other systems can be used without confusion or conflict. A descriptive name may be used; for example, it was decided to group destroyers made to the same design as HMSTomahawk, all named after weapons, as theWeapon-class rather thanTomahawk-class.
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In European navies, a class is named after the first ship commissioned regardless of when it was ordered or laid down. In some cases this has resulted in different class names being used in European and U.S. references; for example, European sources record theColorado-classbattleships of theUnited States Navy as the "Maryland class", asUSS Maryland was commissioned beforeUSS Colorado.[citation needed][contradictory]
TheWest German Navy (Bundesmarine) used a three-digit type number for every class in service or in advanced project state. Modified versions were identified by a single letter suffix. After thereunification of Germany theGerman Navy (Deutsche Marine) kept the system. Informally, classes are also traditionally named after their lead ships.
TheIndonesian Navy has a traditional naming system for its ships. In addition, the ship's type and missions can be identified by the first number on the ship's three-digithull number, which is placed on the front bows and the back of the stern. The naming convention is:[2]
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Russian (andSoviet) ship classes are formally named by the numbered project that designed them. That project sometimes, but not always, had a metaphorical name, and almost always had aNATO reporting name. In addition, the ships of the class would have a number prefixed by a letter indicating the role of that type of vessel. For example, Project 641 had no name, though NATO referred to its members asFoxtrot-classsubmarines.
The ship classification does not completely correspond common designation, particularly for destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Russia has its own classification system for these ships:
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The BritishRoyal Navy (RN) has used several methods of naming classes. In addition to the accepted European convention, some classes have been named after a common theme in the included ships' names, e.g.,Tribal-class destroyers, and some classes were implemented as an organizational tool, making traditional methods of naming inefficient. For instance, theAmphion class is also known as the A class. Most destroyer classes were known by the initial letter used in naming the vessels, e.g.,V and W-class destroyers. Classification by letter also helped to conflate similar smaller classes of ships as in the case of theA-class destroyers of 1913 whose names spread across the alphabet. Since the end of theSecond World War, Royal Navy ship classes have also been known by their type number (e.g.Type 45 destroyer.)
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For theUnited States Navy, the first ship in a class to be authorized byCongress is the designated class leader and gives the name to the class, regardless of the order in which the ships of that class are laid down, launched or commissioned.[3] Due to numbering conventions, the lead ship often has the lowest hull number of its class. (DuringWorld War II, the award of construction contracts was not always congruent with completion, so several ships had higher hull numbers than later ships.)[4]
Before the 1920s, naval vessels were classified according to shared characteristics.[5]However, naval historians and scholars retro-apply the current convention to historical naval vessels sharing similarities, such as those of theAmerican Civil War, where theUnion Navy built several vessels in series, which can be termed "classes" as presently understood. Common examples include thePassaic-classmonitor and theCity-classironclad, among many others, for the Union side, andColumbia class orRichmond class, for those ironclads in service with theConfederate States Navy. Generally accepted by military historians and widely used in the more recent books, webpages and papers on the subject matter (most notably the releases ofOsprey Publishing), these latter-day classifications are sometimes considered "semi-official" (although they are not). Contemporary records, such as the "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion" (Series 2, Volume 1, Part 1), show that the modern nomenclature was not in use at the time.[citation needed]
The unofficial retro-applying of ship classes can occasionally lead to confusion. For example, while American works consistently adhere to theCity- andColumbia-class monikers, works of British origin refer to the same classes asCairo class andTennessee class respectively, in compliance with the modern Royal Navy naming conventions.[citation needed]
By the time the United States entered World War II, the current naming convention was in place, though it remains unclear as to exactly how and when the practice originated.[citation needed]
Merchant ships are almost always classed by aclassification society. These vessels are said to bein class when their hull, structures, machinery, and equipment conform toInternational Maritime Organization andMARPOL standards. Vesselsout of class may be uninsurable and/or not permitted to sail by other agencies.
A vessel's class may include endorsements for the type of cargo such as "oil carrier", "bulk carrier", "mixed carrier" etc. It may also include class notations denoting special abilities of the vessel. Examples of this include anice class, fire fighting capability, oil recovery capability, automated machinery space capability, or other special ability.
vessel class (P289) (seeuses)