Following is my proposal for how the ship category structure should be laid out.
| Category name | Contents | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Ships by country | Ships of (country) | Category:Ships of the United States |
| Category:Ships of Japan | ||
| Category:Ships of Germany | ||
| Ships of (country) | (Ship purpose) of (country) | Category:Merchant ships of the United States |
| Category:Naval ships of the United States | ||
| Category:Passenger ships of the United States | ||
| Naval ships of (country) | (Ship type) of (country) | Category:Aircraft carriers of the United States |
| Category:Battleships of the United States | ||
| Category:Cruisers of the United States | ||
| (Ship type) of (country) | (Era) (ship type) of (country) | Category:World War I destroyers of the United States |
| Category:World War II destroyers of the United States | ||
| Category:Korean War destroyers of the United States | ||
| (Ship type) of (country) | (Class name) class (ship types) | Category:Benson class destroyers |
| Category:Fletcher class destroyers | ||
| Category:Clemson class destroyers | ||
| (Ship type) of (country) | [Ship articles] | USS Turner Joy (DD-951) |
| USS Gearing (DD-710) | ||
| USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) |
Note that the era categories, the class categories, and the individual ship articles are at the same level under (Ship type) of country).
So to reach North Carolina from the top, you'd go Category:Ships -> Category:Ships by country -> Category:Ships of the United States -> Category:Naval ships of the United States -> Category:Battleships of the United States -> USS North Carolina (BB-55).