Ship Type and Class Designations - 1920
Following World War I, and the confusion experienced in mailing correspondence and shipping spare parts to ships, Acting Secretary of the Navy Robert E. Coontz approved General Order No. 541 (July 17,1920) which established approved a standardized system of alpha-numeric symbols to identify ship types (e.g., BB for battleship, DD for destroyer, DM for light mine layer, AD for destroyer tender). Linked with a consecutive number, the use of which now became general for all types of naval ships, these classification symbols provided positive and individual identification of both named and unnamed ships, many of which might not be readily identifiable by name alone. Note that while the first letter of the ship type indicates the type designation, and the second letter indicates sub-type (such as CL for light cruiser), this is not always the case as shown by the designation DD, which simply stands for "destroyer" and ODD, which stands for "old destroyer."
| Type | Class | Class Designation | |
| Battleship | B | Battleship, first line Battleship, second line Monitor, first line Monitor, second line |
BB BB BM OBM |
| Cruiser | C | Battle cruiser, first line Battle cruiser, second line Cruiser, first line Cruiser, second line Light cruiser, first line Light cruiser, second line Aircraft carrier, first line Aircraft carrier, second line Minelayer, first line Minelayer, second line |
CC OCC CA OCA CL OCL CV OCV CM OCM |
| Destroyer | D | Destroyer, first line Destroyer, second line Destroyer leader Light minelayer |
DD ODD DL DM |
| Submarine | S | Submarine, first line Submarine, second line Fleet submarine, first line Fleet submarine, second line Cruiser submarine Minelaying submarine |
SS OSS SF OSF SC SM |
| Patrol Vessel | P | Eagle Submarine chaser Gunboat Yacht |
PE PC PG PY |
| Auxiliary | A | Destroyer tender Submarine tender Lighter-than-air craft tender Heavier-than-air craft tender Repair ship Storeship Collier Oiler Ammunition ship Cargo ship Transport Hospital ship Fleet tug Minesweeper Auxiliaries, miscellaneous |
AD AS AZ AV AR AF AC AO AE AK AP AH AT AM AG |
| Lighter-than-Air | Z | Rigid dirigible Nonrigid dirigible Kite balloon |
ZR ZN ZK |
| Heavier-than-Air | V | Fighting plane Observation plane Scouting plane Patrol plane Torpedo and bombing plane |
VF VO VS VP VT |
| District Craft | Y | Ash lighter Ambulance boat Ammunition lighter Coal barge Car float Fueling barge Floating derrick Dredge Freight lighter Garbage lighter Heating scow Mud scow Oil barge Ferry boat and launch Piledriver Stevedoring barge Torpedo testing barge Water barge Floating workshop Seaplane barge District tug District patrol |
YA YH YE YC YCF YCD YD YM YF YG YHT YMD YO YFB YPD YS YTT YW YR YV YT YP |
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