Maybe a GW bug?
 

I checked the generic contacts in the GW setup and when point my UZO at a ship it still classifies it as a general type of ship (destroyer, patrol boat, ect.) but my recognition book only says "contact" under every ships name.

This doesnt seem right to me.

I remember when I first started SH-3 there was a way to keep the ship name as a "-" in the notepad so when you were scanning the horizon you didnt know a ship was there unles you saw it (as opposed to the name blinking in the notepad).

Also ....the recognition book should always tell me the name of the class of ship.

No bug there. You have installed the "no-contact" mod that comes with GW as optional I believe.