Assuming that you really do mean ships (not boats or subs), you generally have 3 or 4 ways to classify surface ships.
Narrowband Sonar - Comparison of the narrowband tonals to the class-specific frequency charts (either in game or with a printed out paper chart)
ESM Mast - If you place the cursor on the wedge as it appears in the ESM screen, a classification will pop up in the window. Not always conclusive if there are a lot of signals overlapping.
Periscope - A lot of people overlook this. I know I did when I started playing DW. I had it in my mind that modern subs "never" use the scope, but against surface ships it is a critical tool.
Active Intercept - In stock DW, I don' think you can meaningfully use the active sonar intercept screen for classification (but you can for tracking/TMA). In both the Reinforced Alert and the LWAMI mods, active sonar intercepts can be used for classification by comparing the sonar frequency noted on the screen with the platform data.
Mike
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