John N
Ships can be broadly divided into three main types: naval ships, merchant ships, and passenger ships. Naval ships are warships; a country’s navy uses them. Merchant ships carry cargo for commercial purposes (there’s a merchant navy). Passenger ships carry people, usually on ocean voyages. Some naval vessels are designed to carry both freight and passengers.
In the world of naval warfare, there are many different types of warships. Some are built for a specific purpose, while others are meant to be an all-around fighting machine. If you want to keep up with the latest technology in naval warfare, it’s important to know what each type of warship does and why it is used.
Ships have been used for war for a long time. The first warships were small vessels used to transport troops to and from the shores. They were also used for carrying supplies and provisions. The evolution of warfare caused the development of larger, more versatile ships that had more powerful weapons, thicker armor, and more advanced technology. Today’s warships are multi-purpose vessels that are designed to carry out a variety of missions.
Here we will take a look at the different types of warships in use today by several countries around the world.
- Cruisers
- Destroyers
- Corvettes and Frigates
- Battleships
- Aircraft carriers
- Cruisers
Cruisers are large, heavily armed ships designed to take on other enemy vessels. Cruisers are an essential part of a navy’s fleet, with anti-aircraft guns, cruise missiles, and torpedoes because they can easily overpower and destroy other warships when necessary.
They are the most common type of warship. Cruisers are built for long-range combat, with strong armor and powerful guns that can destroy enemy ships at long distances. They have very large engines that allow them to move quickly through rough seas, making them ideal for hunting down submarines or attacking surface ships.
Cruisers are also designed with large engines that allow them to move quickly through rough seas, making them ideal for hunting down submarines or attacking surface ships. They have very large engines that would enable them to move rapidly through stormy seas, making them ideal for hunting down submarines or attacking surface ships.
Missile cruisers are armed with anti-ship missiles to engage enemy vessels at long ranges. These ships use radar systems to detect and track enemy targets before launching their missiles at them from great distances.
- Destroyers
Destroyers are usually smaller than cruisers but carry similarly sophisticated weapons systems and equipment. These ships specialize in taking out submarines and smaller craft like torpedo boats. They are smaller than cruisers and larger than frigates but have many of the same capabilities as a cruiser — namely, radar and sonar systems that help track enemy vessels. They’re suitable for defense against submarines and torpedoes — hence their name — but can also carry some offensive weaponry such as guided missiles.
Destroyers are a type of warship used to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group. They are distinguished by their relatively small size compared to other warships. They are now also used in supporting roles such as minesweeping. The name destroyer comes from the French term contre-torpilleur (“counter-torpedo”) translated as “torpedo boat destroyer.”
While the term “destroyer” has been used interchangeably with “frigate” and “squadron” throughout its history, the term has fallen into disuse outside the United States Navy, and now “destroyer” is usually understood to refer to a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels. Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unattended ocean operations. After the war, the advent of the guided missile allowed destroyers to take on the surface combatant roles previously filled by battleships and cruisers. This resulted in more extensive and more powerful guided missile destroyers capable of independent operation.
Modern destroyers are the evolution of the commonwealth destroyer design of the First World War. These ships were developed in response to torpedo boats and other threats and were used by some navies as convoy escorts during that war. Destroyers have also evolved into one of two basic types: ocean-going fleet destroyers, which are larger and more powerful, and smaller inshore-defense destroyers, which are designed for coastal defense duties. Modern destroyers are usually capable of carrying and launching guided missiles.
The United States Navy mainly built a large fleet of destroyers during the 1980s and 1990s. Smaller destroyers were built by other navies, and the U.S. Navy has since replaced most of its fleet with the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, which includes both a large hull type (DDG 51) and a smaller one (the Flight IIA, or DDG 116). These ships have larger gas turbine engines for better fuel economy at higher speeds, much improved anti-aircraft capability (consisting of SM-2MR/ER, ESSM, RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile & Phalanx CIWS), enhanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities (AN/SQR-19 TACTAS Sonar System
- Frigates
Corvettes and frigates are vessels designed to bring a big punch in a small package. They are both reasonably small classes of ships and are usually the smallest vessels in a navy’s fleet capable of sustained independent operations. While they were initially designed as escorts for larger ships, their roles have evolved to include everything from fighting pirates to engaging submarines. There are some critical differences between the two, however:
Frigates are generally larger ships than corvettes, with more weapons and capabilities. They also tend to be operated by larger crews than corvette-class ships—for example, the crew of the U.S. Navy’s newest class of frigate, the Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS), is about 99 people. In contrast, the crew of Australia’s Adelaide-class frigate is about 170 people. These larger crews allow frigates to carry more weapons systems and perform a broader range of missions than corvettes can handle to their greater capabilities and firepower, candidate states will often spend more time operating independently than corvette power.
A corvette is a smaller ship than a frigate—small enough to fit into smaller harbors or other ports where larger vessels can’t go.
- Aircraft carrier
This is a warship with an airfield built into it. It’s a floating airbase that can go wherever it needs to be. A carrier is also known as a “flat-top” because of its wide flight deck. Aircraft carriers are the centerpiece of modern naval combat strategy; they’re used to launch fighter planes and attack helicopters in support of ground troops on land or to attack enemy ships at sea.
The largest warships ever built are aircraft carriers, and they’re also some of the most expensive. A Nimitz-class carrier like the USS Ronald Reagan costs about $4.5 billion and can carry more than 70 aircraft. Carriers provide air support for ground troops and other vessels by carrying attack planes, fighter jets, helicopters, and other types of aircraft on board.
After launching their planes using catapults, they provide repairs and reloading functions so that aircraft can land and take off again quickly—ideally within an hour or less. Aircraft carriers are nuclear-powered because of the demand for massive amounts of electricity to power catapults and provide electrical power for all of the plane functions after takeoff. The largest class is the Gerald R. Ford-class, which will displace more than 100,000 tons when it’s complete in 2020—nearly one-third larger than the current Nimitz class.
- Battleships
Battleships, or “capital ships,” are large warships with heavy firepower, usually” the main battery consisting of guns no smaller than 16″ in caliber, and a speed of no more than 30 knots. They were larger and had more firepower than cruisers and destroyers. The battleship was the mainstay of most major navies for much of the 20th century. The first true battleships were built in the mid-late 1890s.
Battleships were superseded by aircraft carriers during World War II, but remained in use by most nations until the end of the Cold War; they have since been relegated to ceremonial duties such as parades and training purposes.
