In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.
Type 912 degaussing/deperming ship (ADG) is a type of little known auxiliary ships built in the Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and this class has several derivatives. As of 2022, Type 912 is the most numerous degaussing/deperming ship in PLAN, and the longest serving degaussing/deperming ships in PLAN, until its successor ype 911 finally begun to appear in early 2010s.
Type 917 rescue ship (ARS) is a type of rescue and salvage ship developed by China for its People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). A total of two ships have entered service by mid-2014, and more units are planned. Type 917 is the first ship in PLAN to adopt a trimaran hull, and hence received NATO reporting name Dasan class,or 大三 in Chinese, which is short for Da-xing (大型) San-ti-chuan (三体船), meaning Large Trimaran.
Qiongsha (琼沙)-class cargo ship is a class of Chinese ship developed by China for its People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Originally intended as replacement of Galați-class cargo ship, these ships are mainly used for supplying garrisons in South China Sea. There are three versions of this class, including cargo ship, ambulance transport, and troopship versions. Although two units have retired in early 2020s, and its successor Darong-class transport has entered service, remaining units of Qiongsha class are still very active in PLAN service. The general designers of all versions of Qiongsha class were Mr. Pan Hui-Quan (潘惠泉) and Mr. Huang Zhong-Fu (黄钟福).
The Dulaji class are a class of environmental research ships (AGER) currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and the design is also modified for cable layer (YRC) in PLAN service, with both versions have received the same NATO reporting name Dulaji class because they share the same hull. The exact type of this class remain unknown as of 2022, because no official information has been released, despite the ships have already been in service for more than a decade. In addition to the usual task of conducting regular environmental sampling, monitoring/surveillance and research missions, these ships are also tasked with additional task of sewer transfer and treatment from other ships to prevent sewer onboard other ships from overflowing into the sea and thus causing pollution, and thus these ships also act as sewer vessels for vessel sewage discharging.
The Type 631 tanker is a type of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN),and has received NATO reporting name Fuchang class.Originally designed as a type that is capable of transport both water and oil, but only the oil tanker version entered service with PLAN.
Type 637 tanker is a type of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Originally designed as a type that is capable of transport both water and oil, these ships entered civilian service from 1981 onward, followed by military service, with the oiler version entered service with PLAN first .Type 637 tanker has received NATO reporting name Fuxiao class.
Duludao class dispatch boat is a class of little known naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The exact type still remains unknown, but it has received the NATO reporting name Duludao class. Of approximately more than a dozen units commissioned, many of them have been decommissioned since mid 2010s.
The Dumuju class is a class of dispatch boat (YFL) currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The exact type still remains unknown, and it has received NATO reporting name Dumuju class,with only a single unit of this class have been confirmed in active service as of mid-2010s.
Duzhou class dispatch boat (YFL) is a class of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and has received NATO reporting name Duzhou class, with the exact type still remains unknown, and only a single unit of this class have been confirmed in active service as of mid-2010s.
Duchuan class dispatch boat (YFL) is a class of little known naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), With the exact type still remains unknown, it has received the NATO reporting name Duchuan class, or 渡船 in Chinese, meaning Ferry Boat. A total of three units of this class have been confirmed in active service as of 2022.
Fushi class tanker is a class of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and has received NATO reporting name Fushi class. The exact type remains unknown, and a total of eight of this class have been confirmed in active service as of early 2020s. The hull is adopted for both transport oil tanker (AOT) and water tanker (AWT).
Fujian-class tanker is a class of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and has received NATO reporting name Fujian class. The exact type designation still remains unknown, and a total of twenty of this class have been confirmed in active service as of early-2020s, both in transport oil tanker and water tanker versions.
Fubai class tanker is a class of naval auxiliary ship currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and has received NATO reporting name Fubai class.The exact type designation still remains unknown, and a total of four of this class have been confirmed in active service as of early-2020s.
The Duhast class tug is a little known class of naval auxiliary currently in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN),and this 3200-horsepower tug has received NATO reporting name Duhast class.Built by Wuhu Xinlian Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (芜湖新联造船有限公司), formerly Wuhu Shipyard, since 2004, the name of this class is taken from the installed power of the vessels, with the exact type designation still remaining unknown. After the first pair was built, as of the mid-2010s, a total of twelve of this class have been confirmed as being in active service.
Type 792 naval trawler is a Chinese auxiliary ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), deployed as intelligence gathering spy ship. Type 792 and its predecessor Type 8154, along with Type 8105 naval trawlers have all received NATO reporting name FT-14 AIT class, meaning Fishing Trawler - 14 Auxiliary Intelligence-gathering Trawler.
Dusso class dispatch boat is a class of little known dispatch boat (YFL) built in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).The exact domestic Chinese type designation remain unknown, and this class is identified by its NATO reporting name Dusso class,Dusso class in PLAN service is designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a two-digit number. The second Chinese character is Jiao (交), short for Jiao-Tong-Ting (交通艇), meaning dispatch boat (ferry) in Chinese, because these ships are classified as dispatch boats. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East for East Sea Fleet, North for North Sea Fleet, and South for South Sea Fleet. However, the pennant numbers are subject to change due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention, or when units are transferred to different fleets. As of mid 2010s, only a single unit has been positively identified:
Dufei class dispatch boat is a class of little known dispatch boat (YFL) built in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).The exact domestic Chinese type designation remain unknown, and this class is identified by its NATO reporting name Dufei class,or 渡费 in Chinese, meaning Crossing Toll. Dufei in PLAN service is designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a two-digit number. The second Chinese character is Jiao (交), short for Jiao-Tong-Ting (交通艇), meaning dispatch boat (ferry) in Chinese, because these ships are classified as dispatch boats. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East for East Sea Fleet, North for North Sea Fleet, and South for South Sea Fleet. However, the pennant numbers are subject to change due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention, or when units are transferred to different fleets. As of 2022, only a single unit has been positively identified:Specification:
The Dukou class is a class of little known dispatch boat (YFL) built in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The exact domestic Chinese type designation remain unknown, and this class is identified by its NATO reporting name Dukou class, or 渡口 in Chinese, meaning Crossing Wharf. The Dukou class in PLAN service is designated by a combination of two Chinese characters followed by a two-digit number. The second Chinese character is Jiao (交), short for Jiao-Tong-Ting (交通艇), meaning dispatch boat (ferry) in Chinese, because these ships are classified as dispatch boats. The first Chinese character denotes which fleet the ship is service with, with East for East Sea Fleet, North for North Sea Fleet, and South for South Sea Fleet. However, the pennant numbers are subject to change due to the change of Chinese naval ships naming convention, or when units are transferred to different fleets. As of mid 2010s, a total of five ships have been identified:
Type 917 torpedo retriever (TR/TWR) / range support vessel / target ship is a type of little known auxiliary ship built in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).As a successor of earlier Type 803 torpedo retriever, Type 917 TR/TWR/AGT has received NATO reporting name Damen class, or 大门 in Chinese, meaning "big gate". As with its predecessors, once these have retired from their original torpedo retrieving duties, they are converted to range support vessels/target ships,until finally sunk as targets. Specification:
PRC 
