Editing Ship class (section)

{{Short description|Group of ships of a similar design}}
{{distinguish|Ship classification}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2023}}
[[File:Olympic and Titanic crop.jpg|thumb|right|Two of the three {{sclass|Olympic|ocean liner}}s that were built; {{RMS|Olympic||2}} (left) and {{RMS|Titanic||2}} (right) (March 1912)]]
[[File:Computer generated image of the Mærsk Triple E Class (1).jpg| thumb | 220x124px | right | Triple E class ]]
A '''ship class''' is a group of [[ship]]s of a similar design.<ref name="CDR Salamander">{{cite web |url=http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2006/05/spreading-ship-naming-head-scratching.html |title=Spreading ship-naming head scratching |author=CDR Salamander |date=5 May 2006 |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref> This is distinct from a ship type,<ref name="CDR Salamander" /> which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, {{USS|Carl Vinson|CVN-70|6}} is a nuclear [[aircraft carrier]] (ship type) of the {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|4}} (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 (see {{sclass2|County|cruiser}} 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. {{sclass|Trafalgar|submarine}}s' names all begin with T ({{HMS|Turbulent|S87|2}}, {{HMS|Tireless|S88|2}}, {{HMS|Torbay|S90|2}}); and {{sclass|Ticonderoga|cruiser}}s are named after American battles ({{USS|Yorktown|CG-48|2}}, {{USS|Bunker Hill|CG-52|2}}, {{USS|Gettysburg|CG-64|2}}, {{USS|Anzio|CG-68|2}}). Ships of the same class may be referred to as [[sister ship]]s.