Template:Infobox ship/characteristics
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This is a subtemplate of {{Infobox ship}} that supports the infobox's ship characteristics data.
- Multiple copies of this template may be used, either to cover different configurations for subclasses (in class articles) or major alterations (for individual ships)
- Remember that the infobox, like a lead section, is meant to be a summary of the information that is provided in the article itself. To this end, avoid excessive detail or accuracy in the infobox; if required, elaborate in the article body.
- For metric vs. imperial dimensions, use the unit that was relevant at the time and place the ship was constructed. If the source being used has the 'other' measurement, consider using the
|disp=flipparameter in the conversion template to make the correct unit appear first.
This template supports these named parameters. Positional parameters are not supported.
|hide_header=– see Header parameters|header_caption=– see Header parameters
|class=– Class and type|type=– Type|tonnage=– Tonnage|displacement=– Displacement|tons_burthen=– Tons burthen|length=– Length|beam=– Beam|height=– Height|draught=– Draught|draft=– Draft|depth=– Depth|hold_depth=– Depth of hold|decks=– Decks|deck_clearance=– Deck clearance|ramps=– Ramps|ice_class=– Ice class|power=– Installed power|propulsion=– Propulsion|sail_plan=– Sail plan|speed=– Speed|range=– Range|endurance=– Endurance|test_depth=– Test depth|boats=– Boats & landing craft carried|capacity=– Capacity|troops=– Troops|complement=– Complement|crew=– Crew|time_to_activate=– Time to activate|sensors=– Sensors and processing systems|EW=– Electronic warfare & decoys|armament=– Armament|armour=– Armour|armor=– Armor|aircraft=– Aircraft carried|aircraft_facilities=– Aviation facilities|characteristics_notes=– Notes
Header parameters
[edit]hide_header
- As with the "Career" subtemplate, if you need to repeat fields by using multiple copies of the "General characteristics" subtemplate, enter "Yes" in this field to hide the blue bar at the top of the second template.
- At least one "General characteristics" header should be left visible.
header_caption
- If the following data does not apply to all/most periods of a ship's/class's history, use this field to indicate the characteristics at a particular period of time (such as a date range or "As of YYYY"), in service with a particular company/navy/body ("in Fooish service"), or type ("as destroyer" if converted to/from something else)
- For class articles, use this field to indicate if the following data is for a particular subclass or variant
Parameter descriptions
[edit]These descriptions are listed by the label displayed in a rendered infobox.
Class and type
- If the ship belongs to a recognized ship class, use this field to identify the class. The field displays as "class & type", so the type should be added here as well.
- Use common and generally accepted ship types to maintain consistency, and avoid excessive detail, even if there is a formal designation for the type (for example, "Nimitz-class aircraft carrier" in favour of "Nimitz-class Nuclear-powered Attack Aircraft Carrier" or "Anzac-class frigate" instead of "Anzac class guided-missile-, surface-to-air-missile-, and helicopter-equipped frigate"). If possible, link both the class name and the ship type to their respective articles, e.g. Oasis-class cruise ship.
- Consider using one of the ship-class templates,
{{sclass}}and{{sclass2}}, to help with formatting and to link the entry to the class article title. If you do not choose to use these templates, remember to add a hyphen (-) between the name of the class and the word "class" when the class name is followed by a ship type. Ship-class articles are normally hyphenated (e.g. Natick-class tugboat). Use:{{sclass}}– when the class name is italicized and the article title is hyphenated:{{sclass|Natick|tugboat}}→ Natick-class tugboat;{{sclass2}}– when the class name is not italicized and the article title is hyphenated:{{sclass2|Flower|corvette}}→ Flower-class corvette;- the deprecated
{{sclass}}and{{sclass2}}are similar and may be used when the article title is not hyphenated; it is better to move un-hyphenated class-article titles to hyphenated class-article titles
- Do not use this field for unique naval vessels, unless they were one of a class where the rest were cancelled.
- Exercise caution (particularly with civilian ships); although many ships may be of a common design, they may not belong to the same class, or any class at all. Do not invent or make up ship classes to link seemingly-related ships—use the
|type=field instead. - This field is not related to ship classification, so the classification notation should not be placed here.
Type
- Do not use this field in articles where the
|class=field is appropriate; add the type data there. - Use this field to identify the type of the ship when it is unique or otherwise not part of an identifiable class, or when the infobox is used in a ship-class article.
- Use common and generally accepted ship types for both naval and civilian ships to maintain consistency. Nearly all ship types have their own Wikipedia articles or redirects to parent types.
- In the case of naval ships, additional details are beneficial (e.g. "Guided missile frigate" instead of just "Frigate"), but avoid going overboard (e.g. "Guided-missile- and helicopter- equipped multi-mission patrol frigate").
- For civilian ships general types are usually better. Avoid using descriptive words like "heavy" or "polar" when specifying the type of the vessel as they are rarely used in official context. When in doubt, the ship's classification notation is a good place to start identifying the vessel, although in some cases the actual purpose of the ship is different (e.g. a supply and research vessel may be classified as a passenger ship).
Tonnage
- The ship's tonnage, assigned to all registered civilian vessels, is related to the capacity of the ship. It can be related either to the volume of the vessel as gross or net tonnage, or to the mass of the cargo, crew and consumables as deadweight tonnage. However, it is not related to the mass of the ship itself (see displacement), which can sometimes be misleading. Passenger ships are typically referred to as "xxx-ton ships" by their gross (register) tonnage; other merchant ships also use grt, gt, deadweight, or other measure of capacity.
- Do not mix register tonnage with modern tonnage. International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships was adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 1969 and became mandatory for ships built after 18 July 1982, meaning that all ships built after this date always use the modern tonnage system even though some sources incorrectly use register tonnage. Note that modern tonnage is a unitless index, so there are no "gross tons" or "net tons". Older ships, especially those built before 1969, are generally measured in register tons, a volumetric unit equivalent to 100 cubic feet.
- Where possible, use the following templates for the ship's tonnage without any attributes:
{{GT}}for gross tonnage, e.g. 10,000 GT;{{GRT}}for gross register tonnage, e.g. 10,000 GRT;{{NetT}}for net tonnage, e.g. 5,000 NT;{{NRT}}for net register tonnage, e.g. 5,000 NRT; and{{DWT}}for deadweight tonnage, e.g. 3,000 DWT.
- Place different tonnages on separate lines using unordered (*) list markup. The usual order is gross (register) tonnage, net (register) tonnage and deadweight tonnage.
Displacement
- The displacement is the mass of a ship, or basically how much water has to get out of the way for the ship to float. Sometimes displacement is given for both unloaded ("lightship") and fully loaded conditions.
- This value is most commonly associated with military vessels, but is also often used for special ships such as icebreakers. Information of the ship's displacement is rarely available for cargo and passenger ships, and the lay press often confuses tonnage with displacement (e.g. stating that a vessel "weighs x gross tons). Do not add displacement figures to the tonnage field. Gross tonnage or deadweight tonnage are typically used when referring to the ship's size (e.g. "100,000-ton passenger ship" or "400,000-ton bulk carrier"), but they are not displacement.
Tons burthen
- An archaic measurement of the carrying capacity of sailing ships, based on how many tuns of wine a ship could fit in her hold (see Builder's Old Measurement).
- Infobox entries should be formatted like this example:
595 {{small|{{fraction|39|94}}}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])which gives: 595 39⁄94 (bm). The fraction will always be a fraction of 94 for British-registered ships and 95 for US registry. Use the fraction; do not round off. - As tons burthen is not a measurement of weight and has no metric equivalent, this value should not be converted.
- Do not use this field for modern ships.
Length
- Multiple values may be listed to indicate lengths at different points; common values include the following:
- length overall (length between extreme forward and aft points of the vessel)
- waterline length (length along the line where the water meets the hull)
- length between perpendiculars (between the first and last perpendicular hull frames)
- Different lengths should be disambiguated and the disambiguator linked (e.g. "170 ft (52 m) (waterline)"). However, if only length overall (the most common value associated with ships) is given, the disambiation may be omitted from the infobox (but should be mentioned in the article body).
- Length between perpendiculars, usually defined as the distance from the forward surface of the stem to the centerline of rudder axis, is used mainly for various rule-based calculations and has hardly any physical meaning. Therefore, it might be a good idea to omit it unless it is relevant to the article. The same applies to other rule-based lengths, such as load line length.
Beam
- The beam, breadth, or width of a vessel's hull; common values include the following:
- moulded breadth of the hull (maximum breadth of the moulded hull surface)
- breadth of the hull at waterline (for ships with sloping sides)
- maximum breadth of the ship (e.g. bridge wings)
- Different beams should be disambiguated (e.g. "25 m (82 ft) (waterline)"). However, if only the moulded breadth (the most common value associated with ships) is given, the disambiguation may be omitted from the infobox.
Height
- The height of a ship. If possible, provide context (i.e. "from waterline...", "from keel..." and "...to top of the mainmast", "...to top of conning tower", etc.)
Draught or Draft
- Use this field to list the draft; the distance between the waterline and the keel
- The draft will vary depending on conditions like the vessel's load. If possible, specify the conditions that result in that particular draft value, e.g. "maximum" and "ballast".
- British English (
|draught=) and American English (|draft=) alternates are provided; delete whichever is inappropriate - Do not confuse "depth" with "draught" or "draft"; when using sourced with abbreviations check the table of abbreviations to see which is meant.
Depth
- The depth or moulded depth of a vessel: the distance between the top of the keel and the underside of the uppermost full-length deck (generally the hull minus superstructure)
- Unlike draught (draft), depth is a hull metric which does not change with load.
Depth of hold
- The depth of the hold, as measured from the underside of the main deck. This measurement is related to Builder's Old Measurement and is used to calculate tons burthen.
- Do not use this field for modern ships.
Decks
- Number of decks on the ship
- Most commonly used for passenger vessels like cruise ships, and for vehicle-carrying ships like roll-on/roll-off vessels
Deck clearance
- The height clearance between decks
- Most commonly used on vehicle-carrying ships
Ramps
- Number, size, and type of vehicle ramps fitted to a ship
Ice class
- If the ship has a strengthened hull for operating in ice, the relevant ice class notation may be listed here. It can always be found from the ship's class notation, but is often mentioned elsewhere as well. The most common types of ice classes for merchant ships are the Finnish-Swedish ice class (1C, 1B, 1A or 1A Super) and IACS Polar Class (PC 7...PC 1).
- Classification societies often use their own notations, which may or may not be equivalent to the Finnish-Swedish system. If only the classification society's own ice class notation is given, include the name of the classification society in the field as well, for example "DNV POLAR-10 Icebreaker".
- Do not mix ice class with main character of class (e.g. +1A1 for DNV), which is assigned to all vessels.
- Do not use this field to denote the ship's actual icebreaking capability. Such information may be placed in the
|speed=field (e.g. x knots in y ft (z m) ice) or in the article body.
Installed power
- This field is used to list the ship's prime movers (number, manufacturer and model) and their individual and/or combined output. As a rule of thumb, components that generate power for the propulsion system should be included in this field.
- In some cases it may be necessary to be creative and include additional information about the ship's power plant, especially if some details are missing, but full descriptions should be placed in the article body. Likewise, information obvious from the context may be omitted if something can be described unambiguously.
- The installed power is usually given in kilowatts for modern ships and in horsepower for older ships. Remember to clarify whether the given power output is a combined rating of the main engines, or the output of an individual engine.
- Do not shorten diesel engines to "diesels". In case of motor ships, it is usually not necessary to identify the main engines as diesel engines in the infobox. Usually the manufacturer and model are enough, and further details ("four-stroke", "medium-speed", "crosshead", "opposing piston" etc.) should be included in the article body.
Propulsion
- This field is used to describe the ship's propulsion system. As a rule of thumb, everything that consumes power in order to make the ship move should be included in this field.
- Due to the large number of different propulsion arrangements, it is impossible to give a definite answer to what should and should not be included in this field. The bare minimum is the number of propeller shafts, but the amount of additional details (powertrain type, manufacturers, models, power ratings, propeller diameters, blade counts...) should be decided case-by-case based on the amount of available information, the ship's propulsion arrangement and the available space. Generally the contents of the field should be limited to no more than 3–4 rows and preferably less. Full descriptions should be placed in the article body.
- The main propulsion system has a priority over manoeuvering thrusters. If the space is limited, concentrate on the bits in the back.
Sail plan
- For sailing vessels, use this field to indicate the layout of sails on the vessel (see Sail-plan for more information, particularly the Types of ships section)
- Other information that may be included in this field is the type of sail material used, mast heights, and the total area of sail
Speed
- The speed at which a ship can travel, usually expressed in knots (nautical miles per hour).
- When using {{convert}}, do not specify an "out" value for the conversion (use
{{convert|15|kn}}instead of{{convert|15|kn|km/h}}) or any other parameters except unit linking (see above). The template will provide conversions for both kilometres per hour and statute miles per hour. - Generally the maximum speed is entered, although other speed values (such as for sustainable/economical operations, multi-element propulsion systems where only one element is engaged, or specific tasks like patrolling, minehunting, or icebreaking) may be listed as well; if so, provide context as to what each speed represents in parenthesis after the entry.
Range
- The maximum distance a ship can travel.
- Usually expressed as a value in nautical miles for a given speed in knots. When specifying a speed, spell out "at" instead of using "@".
- When using
{{convert}}, do not specify an "out" value for the conversion (use{{convert|1000|nmi}}instead of{{convert|1000|nmi|mi}}) or any other parameters except unit linking (see above). The template will provide conversions for both kilometres and statute miles. - Multiple ranges may be listed within the field e.g. for different speeds or propulsion arrangements.
Endurance
- The time that a ship can operate without entering port for resupply.
Test depth
- This is the peacetime maximum operating depth of a submarine, and the depth tested to during sea trials (see Submarine depth ratings for more info)
- This field will only see use on submarines, and should be removed from all other articles.
Boats & landing craft carried
- Any small boats carried and used by a ship, such as landing craft, tenders, and the like, but excluding lifeboats.
Capacity
- Passenger and cargo capacity of a vessel.
- Common units include twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) or forty-foot equivalent units (FEU) for container and general cargo vessels, lane meters for roll-on/roll-off ships, or car equivalent units (CEU, RT, or RT43) for car carriers. These units do not work with
{{Convert}}and should remain unconverted. The template{{TEU}}may be useful. - Alternately for vehicle carriers, particularly military vessels, a breakdown of the number and type of vehicles carried may be used.
- Hold volume may be used for bulk carriers and tankers, but use caution when the source expresses the value in tons, as the deadweight tonnage is often used when talking about cargo capacity of a ship.
- Although deadweight tonnage usually denotes the ship's cargo-carrying capacity, place it in the
|tonnage=field as it includes other consumables as well.
Troops
- The vessel's troop-carrying capacity.
Complement
- List the number of personnel aboard a warship here.
Crew
- List the number of personnel aboard a merchant vessel here. As well as the standard number of crew, the total crew accommodation capacity may be given here.
- If only the total number of crew is given, there is no need to specify "crew" after the figure. However, the ship's company may be separated to officers and crewmen, in which case it is necessary to identify the latter.
Time to activate
- This field is for ships (generally warships) that are currently in reserve or otherwise non-operational, and indicates how much time and effort would be required to bring the vessel to full operational status.
Sensors and processing systems
- List any specialized sensor systems (radars, sonars, night vision and thermal imaging systems etc.) used to detect ships, aircraft or other airborne, surface or underwater targets or threats.
- This field should be used only for specialized sensor systems usually found in naval vessels. It should not be used to list standard navigational equipment commonly found on all ships.
Electronic warfare & decoys
- List any electronic warfare or decoy equipment carried by the ship here
Armament
- List the weapons fitted to a ship
- If the ship has been armed only during a conflict, this should be specified.
Armour or Armor
- List any armor plating fitted to the ship
- Where possible, break the armour down by its type/location, and if the thickness varies, give maximum and minimum values
- British English (Armour) and American English (Armor) alternates are provided; delete whichever is inappropriate.
Aircraft carried
- Used to indicate the number and type of aircraft a ship can carry.
Aviation facilities
- Any features of the ship used for aircraft operations may be listed here. This could include the size of the flight deck (either in dimensions, or the number of aircraft/helicopters that can be operated simultaneously), number and size of aircraft lifts, number and type of aircraft catapults, or features such as a ski-jump ramp.
Notes
- Any information that does not fit into the above fields may go here.
- This field is not to be used for citations/references: either the citations should be attached to the specific field, or the infobox should be treated as part of the lead section, with the citations attached to the information in the body of the article.