Editing Warship (section)

==Types and classes==
The main types of warships today are, in order of decreasing size: [[aircraft carrier]]s – [[amphibious assault ship]]s – [[cruiser]]s – [[destroyer]]s – [[frigate]]s – [[corvette]]s – [[Fast attack craft|fast attack boat]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last= Brook |first= Henry |author-link= |date= 2012 |title= Warships |url= |location= |publisher= Usborne |pages= 4 to 7|isbn=9781474915854}}</ref> A more extensive list follows:
{{See also|List of naval ship classes in service#Warships}}
* [[Submarine]], are ships capable of staying submerged for days. Modern submarines can stay underwater for months, with food supplies as the only limiting factor.
**[[Fleet submarine]] is a type of submarine with the speed, range, and endurance to operate as part of a navy's battle [[Naval fleet|fleet]].
**[[Ballistic Missile Submarine]] is a submarine capable of deploying [[submarine-launched ballistic missiles]] (SLBMs) with [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear warheads]]. 
**[[Cruise missile submarine]] are submarines equipped with [[cruise missile]]s.
**[[Attack Submarine]] is a submarine with the purpose of attacking other submarines.
**[[Coastal submarine]] or littoral submarine is a small, maneuverable type of submarine with shallow draft well suited to navigation of coastal channels and harbors.
**[[Midget submarine]] is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine.
**[[Submarine aircraft carrier]] is a submarine equipped with aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained small.
**[[Cruiser submarine]]  were a type of a very large submarine designed to remain at sea for extended periods in areas distant from base facilities.
* [[Amphibious warfare ship]]s are warships employed to land and support ground forces, such as [[marines]], on enemy territory during an [[amphibious assault]].
**[[Amphibious assault ship]] is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces with ship-deployed [[Military helicopter|helicopters]] and [[V/STOL]] aircraft on enemy territory by an amphibious assault.
***[[Landing helicopter dock]] is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship that is capable of operating as a [[helicopter carrier]] and also has a [[well deck]] for supporting [[landing craft]]s.
**[[Amphibious transport dock]] is an amphibious warfare ship, that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions.
**[[Dock landing ship]] is an amphibious warfare ship with a [[well dock]] to transport and launch [[landing craft]] and [[Amphibious vehicle#Armored|amphibious vehicles]].
**[[Landing craft]] are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as [[boat]]s and [[barge]]s, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. 
***[[Landing Craft Utility]] is a type of landing craft used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and marines from amphibious assault ships to [[beachhead]]s.
***[[Landing Craft Mechanized]] is a landing craft designed for carrying [[military vehicles|vehicle]]s during amphibious assaults.
***[[Landing ship, tank]] is the naval designation for ships first developed during [[World War II]] to support amphibious operations by carrying [[tanks]], [[armoured fighting vehicle]]s, [[Military vehicle|transport vehicles]], cargo, and landing [[troops]] directly onto shore with no [[dock]]s or [[pier]]s.
**[[Landing Craft Support]] were two distinct classes of amphibious warfare vessels used by the [[United States Navy]] during World War II to support landing crafts.
* [[Capital ship]], the largest and most important ships in a nation's fleet. These were previously battlecruisers, battleships, and aircraft carriers, but the first two warship types are now no longer used.
** [[Aircraft carrier]], a warship primarily armed with [[carrier-based aircraft]].
*** [[Fleet carrier]] is an aircraft carrier designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy.
*** [[Light aircraft carrier]] is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy.
*** [[Escort carrier]], also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" is a slow type of aircraft carrier  used during WWII.
*** [[Anti-submarine warfare carrier]] is a type of small aircraft carrier whose primary role is as the nucleus of an [[anti-submarine warfare]] [[hunter-killer group]].
***  [[Aircraft cruiser]] (also known as aviation cruiser or cruiser-carrier) is a type of warship that combines the features of the aircraft carrier and a surface warship, such as a cruiser or battleship.
**** [[Helicopter cruiser]].
*** [[Helicopter carrier]], an aircraft carrier especially suited to carry [[Military helicopter|helicopters]] and [[V/STOL]] aircraft.
***[[Seaplane tender]], a [[boat]] or [[ship]] that supports the operation of [[seaplane]]s. Some of these vessels, also known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are regarded by some as the first [[aircraft carrier]]s and became obsolete at the end of the Second World War.
** [[Battleship]], a large, heavily armored warship equipped with many powerful guns. A term which generally post-dates sailing warships.
*** [[Ironclad battleship]], battleships built before the [[Pre-dreadnought battleship|pre-dreadnought]] in the late 1850s to the early 1890s.
*** [[Pre-dreadnought battleship]], sea-going battleships built to a common design before the launch of dreadnoughts, between the mid-1880s to the early 1900s. Pre-dreadnoughts commonly featured a mixed main battery composed of several different caliber guns.
*** [[Dreadnought]], an early 20th-century battleship, which set the pattern for all subsequent battleship construction. Dreadnoughts differ from pre-dreadnoughts in that they feature an all-big-gun main battery. The advantage lies in that if all the big guns have the same characteristics, only one firing solution will be needed to aim them all.
**** [[Fast battleship]]s were battleships which emphasized speed without – in concept – undue compromise of either armor or armament.
** [[Battlecruiser]], a ship with battleship-level armament and cruiser-level armour; typically faster than a battleship because the reduction in armour allowed mounting of more powerful propulsion machinery, or the use of a more slender hull shape with a lower drag coefficient.
* [[Cruiser]], a fast, independent warship. Traditionally, cruisers were the smallest warships capable of independent action. As of 2024, only two countries operated active duty vessels formally classed as cruisers: the [[United States]] and  [[Russia]].
** [[Guided Missile Cruiser|Guided missile cruisers]] are cruisers armed [[anti-ship missile]]s.
** [[Torpedo cruiser]] is a type of cruiser that is armed primarily with [[torpedoe]]s.
** [[Armored cruiser]] was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast enough to outrun any battleship it encountered.
** [[Large cruiser]] is the class of the [[battlecruiser]]-sized [[Alaska-class cruiser]]s of the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]].
** [[Heavy cruiser]] was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 in) caliber; its parameters were dictated by the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922 and the [[London Naval Treaty]] of 1930.
*** [[Pocket battleship]], nickname for the Deutschland-class heavy cruisers.
** [[Light cruiser]] is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light [[armored cruiser]]", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck.
** [[Scout cruiser]]  was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. They were used for [[Reconnaissance|scouting]].
** [[Protected cruiser]] is a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armored deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them.
** [[Unprotected cruiser]] was a type of naval cruiser in use during the early 1870s [[Victorian era|Victorian]] or [[Pre-dreadnought battleship|pre-dreadnought era]].
** [[Coastal defence ship]] were a type of cruiser-sized warship built for the purpose of coastal defense.
* [[Destroyer]], a fast and highly maneuverable warship, traditionally incapable of independent action. Originally developed to counter the threat of [[torpedo boat]]s, they are now the largest independent warship generally seen on the ocean.
** [[Guided missile destroyer]] are destroyers armed with [[anti-ship missile]]s.
**[[Escort destroyer]] was a small warship built to full naval standards which was optimised for air-defence and anti-submarine duties in wartime, but which retained many of the capabilities of a traditional fleet destroyer, enabling it to conduct operations in conjunction with main fleet units as well as carrying out convoy escort and ASW patrols.
** [[Destroyer escort]] was the [[United States Navy]] mid-20th-century classification for a 20-knot (37&nbsp;km/h; 23&nbsp;mph), warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships similar to frigates.
* [[Frigate]], originally a medium-sized sailing ship. Although they date back to the 17th century, frigates in modern navies are typically used to protect merchant ships and other warships.
**[[Armoured frigate]] are frigates with armour which was added to ships based on existing frigate and ship of the line designs. The additional weight of the armour on these first ironclad warships meant that they could have only one gun deck, and they were technically frigates, even though they were more powerful than existing ships-of-the-line and occupied the same strategic role.
**[[Guided missile frigate]]s are frigates armed with [[anti-ship missile]]s.
* [[Corvette]]s were small ships during the age of sail. The concept was revived again in WWII as a merchant convoy escort and anti-submarine ship. Today they are used for [[anti-submarine warfare]] and patrolling.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/corvette-warship | title=Corvette &#124; Fast, Maneuverable & Deadly | website=Britannica }}</ref>
** [[Littoral Combat Ship]] is a [[United States Navy]] classification of warships with the size and role of corvettes.
* [[Fast attack craft]]s are a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable type of warships armed with [[anti-ship missiles]], guns or [[torpedoes]].
** [[Missile boat]]s are small, fast warship armed with [[anti-ship missiles]].
** [[Torpedo boat]], are small, fast surface vessels designed for launching [[torpedo]]es.
***[[Torpedo ram]] is a type of torpedo boat combining a [[Naval ram|ram]] with [[torpedo]] tubes.
***[[Motor torpedo boat]] is a type of fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century.
* [[Patrol vessel]]s are relatively small naval vessels generally designed for coastal defence, border protection, immigration law-enforcement, search and rescue duties. They may be broadly classified as inshore patrol vessels  or offshore patrol vessels. 
* Mine warfare vessels:
** [[Minesweeper (ship)|Minesweeper]] are small warships designed to remove or detonate [[naval mines]]. 
** [[Minehunter]] are naval vessels that seek, detect, and destroys individual naval mines.
** [[Mine countermeasures vessel]]s are atype of naval ships designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter in one hull.
** [[Minelayer]] are naval vessels that plant [[naval mines]] offshore.
* [[Fire ship]], a vessel of any sort set on fire and sent into an anchorage or fleet with the intention of causing destruction and chaos. Exploding fire ships are called [[hellburners]]. The development of [[unmanned surface vehicle]]s has revived the use of fire ships.
* [[Naval drifter]]s are boats built along the lines of a commercial [[Drifter (fishing boat)|fishing drifter]] but fitted out for naval purposes.
* [[Naval trawler]]s are vessels built along the lines of [[fishing trawlers]] but fitted out for naval purposes.
* [[Armed merchantman]] is a type of [[merchant ship]] equipped with [[naval guns]], usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact.
* [[Commerce raider]], any armed vessel—privately or government-owned—sanctioned to raid a nation's merchant fleet.
**[[Merchant raider]]s are disguised commerce raiders.
* [[Gunboat]]s are naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to [[Shore bombardment|bombard coastal targets]].
** [[River gunboat]] is a type of gunboat for riverine use.
** [[Flat-iron gunboat]]s were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterized by small size, low freeboard, the absence of masts, and the mounting of a single non-traversing large gun, aimed by pointing the vessel.
** [[Torpedo gunboat]] were a form of gunboat armed with [[torpedo]]es and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats.
** [[Motor gunboat]] is a type of a fast gunboat armed with [[machine-guns]] and [[autocannons]].
* [[Monitor warship type|Monitor]], a type of small, heavily gunned warships with shallow draft designed for [[Naval gunfire support|shore bombardment]].
**[[River monitor]], a type of [[Monitor warship type|monitor]]s used in rivers.
**[[Breastwork monitor]] was a modification of the monitor by [[Sir Edward Reed]] of the [[Royal Navy]].
* [[Q-ship]], also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them.
* [[Submarine chaser]] was a small warship used in [[anti-submarine warfare]].
* [[Armed yacht]]s were modified [[yacht]]s that were armed with weapons and were typically in the service of a navy.
* [[Balloon carrier]] was a type of ship equipped with a [[hot-air balloon]] tied to the ship with a rope or [[Wire rope|cable]], which was used for [[Observation balloon|observation]]. This type of ship was later replaced by seaplane tenders and aircraft carriers.
* [[Sloop-of-war]] was a sailing vessel category later revived in WWII as a convoy escort ship.
**[[Screw sloop]] was a [[propeller]]-driven sloop-of-wars used during the mid-19th Century.
* [[Ironclad]], a wooden warship with external iron plating.
** [[Casemate ironclad]] were a type of ironclad gunboats used in the [[American Civil War]].
** [[Central battery ship]] in European continental navies, was a development of the (high-freeboard) broadside ironclad of the 1870s
** [[Turret ship]] was a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving [[gun turret]], instead of a [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] arrangement.
** [[Floating battery]] is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship.
* [[Ship of the line]], a sailing warship capable of standing in the [[line of battle]]. A direct predecessor to the later battleship.
* [[Cottonclad warship]]s were [[steamship|steam-powered]] warships with bales of [[cotton]] lining as armour used in the [[American Civil War]]. The armaments consisted of a [[naval ram|ram]], random numbers of different [[cannon]]s and [[sharpshooter]]s. 
* [[Brig|Brig of War]] is a [[brig (ship)|brig]] armed for use by a [[navy]].
* [[Bomb vessel]]s were wooden sailing ships which carried [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]] instead of [[cannons]].
* [[Dispatch boat]]s were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message was not possible or safe or as quick.
** [[Aviso]], a kind of dispatch boat.
* [[Man-of-war]], a British Navy expression for a sailing warship.
* [[Grab (ship)|Grab]] was a type of ship common on the [[Malabar Coast]] in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ghurāb was  originally a galley, but the type evolved into sailing ships armed with [[cannon]]s.
* [[Gallivat]] were small, armed type of boats, with sails and oars, armed with [[swivel gun]]s and used on the [[Malabar Coast]] in the 18th and 19th centuries.
* [[Galleass]], a sailing and rowing warship, equally well suited to sailing and rowing.
* [[Galleon]], a 16th-century armed cargo carriers.
* [[Galley]] was a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for warfare, trade, and piracy.
* [[War canoe]] was a kind of watercraft of the [[canoe]] type designed and outfitted for warfare using [[Bow and arrow|bow]], [[spear]] and [[shield]] wielding [[warrior]]s. During the gunpowder era a single brass or iron [[cannon]] was mounted on the [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] or [[stern]] along with [[musketeer]]s. These warships were used by many [[tribes]] and [[culture]]s all around the globe.
* [[Longship]], a [[Viking]] raiding ship.
* [[East Asian]] warships:
**[[Geobukseon]] (literally Turtle ship) were wooden sail and oar propelled [[Joseon|Korean]] warships armed with cannons.
**[[Panokseon]] (literally board roofed ship) were a type of [[Joseon|Korean]] wooden warships propelled by both sailing and rowing armed with cannons and [[Hwacha]] multiple rocket launchers.
**[[Atakebune]] were wooden oar propelled [[Feudal Japan|16th Century Japanese]] warships armed with few cannons, arquebusiers, and archers. They were mostly bulky floating fortifications.
**[[Mengchong]] (literally Covered Assaulter) was a type of leather-covered assault warship used in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE in China.
**[[Louchuan]] (literally Tower Ship) was a type of warship used as a floating fortress in Ancient China. The Louchuan was meant to board troops onto enemy ships. Although they were also armed with [[Trebuchet|trebuchets]] for ranged combat.
**[[Wugongchuan]] (literally Centipede Ship) was a Chinese oared vessel of the 16th century inspired by the Portuguese galley.
* [[Hellenistic-era warships|Hellenistic galleys]], warships propelled by oars with a sail for use in favorable winds used in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]:
** [[Bireme]], an ancient vessel, propelled by two banks of oars.
** [[Trireme]], an ancient warship propelled by three banks of oars.
** [[Quadrireme]], an ancient warship invented in [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] with two levels of oarsmen, and was therefore lower than the quinquereme.
** [[Quinquereme]], an ancient warship propelled by three banks of oars. On the upper row, two rowers hold one oar; on the middle row, two rowers; and on the lower row, one man to an oar.
** [[Hexareme]], an ancient warship invented in [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse.]] The exact arrangement of the hexareme's oars is unclear. If it evolved naturally from the earlier designs, it would be a trireme with two rowers per oar.
** [[Septireme]], an ancient warship invented by the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], the septireme was derived by adding a standing rower to the lower level of the hexareme.
** [[Octeres]], very little is known about the octeres, at least two of their type were in the fleet of [[Philip V of Macedon]] at the [[Battle of Chios (201 BC)|Battle of Chios]].
** [[Hellenistic-era warships|Enneres]], a type of warship whose oaring system may have been a modification of the quadrireme, with two teams of five and four oarsmen.
** [[Hellenistic-era warships|Deceres]], a type of warship which is present alongside "nines" in the fleet of [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus]] in 315 BC. It is most likely that the "ten" was derived from adding another oarsman to the "nine".
** [[Tessarakonteres]], a very large [[catamaran]] galley reportedly built by [[Ptolemy IV Philopator]] of [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Egypt]]. It had seven [[Naval ram|naval rams]], with one primary, and the deck would have provided a stable platform for [[Catapult|catapults]] that were often mounted on supergalleys. However, the "forty" was likely just a showpiece; Plutarch describes the ship as for exhibition only.
** [[Hellenistic-era warships|Lembos]], light warships most commonly associated with the vessels used by the [[List of ancient tribes in Illyria|Illyrian tribes]], chiefly for piracy, in the area of [[Dalmatia]]. Was soon adopted by [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], [[Seleucid Empire]], [[Roman Republic]] and [[Sparta]].
** [[Hellenistic-era warships|Hemiolia]], light and fast warship that appeared in the early 4th century BC. It was particularly favoured by pirates in the eastern Mediterranean, but also used by Alexander the Great as far as the rivers [[Indus River|Indus]] and [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], and by the Romans as a troop transport.  According to one view, it was manned by half the number of oarsmen to make room for the soldiers. According to another, there were one and a half files of oarsmen on each side, with the additional half file placed amidships, where the hull was wide enough to accommodate them.
** [[Trihemiolia]], this type was classed with the trireme, and had two and a half files of oarsmen on each side. Judging from the [[Lindos]] relief and the famous [[Nike of Samothrace]], both of which are thought to represent ''trihemioliai'', the two upper files would have been accommodated in an oarbox, with the half-file located beneath them in the classic ''thalamitai'' position of the trireme.
** [[Liburna]], a type of small galley used for raiding and patrols. It was originally used by the [[Liburnians]], a pirate tribe from [[Dalmatia]], and later used by the [[Roman navy|Roman Navy]]. It had one bench with 25 oars on each side, while in the late [[Roman Republic]], it was equipped with two banks of oars (a bireme), remaining faster, lighter, and more agile than triremes.
* [[Maritime Southeast Asia|Maritime Southeast Asian]] warships:
**[[Djong]] were sailing warships armed with up to a hundred cannons.
**[[Kakap (boat)|Kakap]] were small warships used in Maritime Southeast Asia.
**[[Kelulus]] were [[Nusantara (term)|Nusantaran]] warships used as troop transports and raiding vessels.
**[[Lancaran (ship)|Lancaran]] were a type of galley warships armed with [[Cetbang]] cannons.
**
<gallery mode="packed">
Image:Teniente Orella LM37.jpg|A fast attack craft of the [[Chilean Navy]]
Image:Osa-I class Project205 DN-SN-84-01770.jpg|An [[Osa class missile boat|''Osa'' I class]] missile boat in 1983.
File:INS Sunayna returns to Kochi post an 80 day anti piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden.jpg|[[INS Sunayna (P57)|INS ''Sunayna'']], an Indian [[Offshore Patrol Vessel]]
File:MAGDEBURG 130-02 2008-03-04 03.jpg|''Magdeburg'', a German {{sclass|Braunschweig|corvette|1}} (2008)
File:F221 Hessen-Kieler Woche 2007.jpg|A German {{sclass|Sachsen|frigate|1}} (2006)
File:HMS DARING sails in British Gibraltar territorial waters MOD 45160525.jpg|British destroyer [[HMS Daring (D32)|HMS ''Daring'']] visiting Gibraltar in 2016
File:US_Navy_030903-N-5024R-003_USS_Port_Royal_(DDG_73)_departed_on_deployment.jpg|American cruiser [[USS Port Royal (CG-73)|USS ''Port Royal'']] in September 2003
File:BCGN Kirov 1983.JPG|Russian battlecruiser [[Kirov-class battlecruiser|''Kirov'']], 1983
</gallery>