Striking 16 bell on new Year

It is the custom for the youngest member of the ship's company to "ring out the Old Year and ring in the New" by striking 16 bells at midnight on the New Year's Eve.

Manning and Cheering ship as a collective mark of respect in honour of a person or of another ship is a very old custom. In the days of sail the yards and shrouds were manned as well as the decks, but now a days only decks are manned. Some example of occasions on which this mark of honour is paid are: visit of Sovereign to the Fleet, the entry into port of ships which have shared a victory, the final departure of a ship from a foreign station on her way home to pay-off.

Classes of Ships

The way warships are classified tends to be controversial, and there is no set definition for the meaning of a term. Everyone have their own views with their ships. For example Russian destroyers on which I served for many years are known as SNF (Soviet Naval Frigate) in USSR. Since modernisation of navies size of the ship doesn’t matter in classifying the ships. However size was the main factor in the early days in classification. Secondly weapon carried and purpose of ship.

The World’s Navies classifies the ships as follows:

Cruisers: +10,000 tons
Light Cruisers: 5000 to 10,000 tons
Destroyers: 3000 to 4000 tons
Frigates: 1100 to 3000 tons
Corvettes: 500 to 1100 tons
FAC: +25 Knots
Large PC: 100 to 500 tons
Coastal PC: -500 tons

There are, however, some nearly "standard" classifications that can be applied to most major warships. The designations listed here attempt to be "universal" to the greatest degree possible. Keep in mind that many nations chose to "do things their own way" at one time or another. A typical destroyer built during WWII and still in service and would still be classified as a destroyer, but it would be more similar to a modern frigate, corvette or offshore patrol vessel depending on its level of modernization.
In the British Navy the pendent number is written with an alphabet in front which distinguish what type ship it is.

A - Auxiliary
B - Battleship
C - Cruiser
D - Destroyer
F - Frigate
M - Minesweeper
N - Minelayer
R - Aircraft Carrier
S - Submarine
H - Hydrographic Vessel
L - Amphibious Warfare
P - Fast Patrol Boat

Cruisers: Cruisers are an extremely large and varied group.

Guided Missile Cruiser: Modern guided missile cruisers generally have only one of the traditional cruiser roles--they are either offensive or defensive, but not both. Typically offensive ships are equipped with heavy anti-ship missile batteries; defensive ships have anti-aircraft missiles to defend task forces. Neither type is truly capable of independent offensive operations as traditional cruisers were. A few guided missile cruisers have combined the offensive and defensive batteries in one large hull.

Destroyers: The destroyers have seen numerous changes in role over the years, as can be seen from the descriptions below

Definitions based on size comparison (i.e. a destroyer is larger than a frigate but smaller than a cruiser) and displacement have become meaningless in this category and the same will likely happen to the escort classes (corvettes and frigates) in the next two decades.

Destroyer: (DD/DDG(Destroyer /Guided Missile Destroyer) Small, fast, heavily armed escorts intended to protect the battle fleet, Carriers from enemy surface, air or undersea threats, depending on the era. Destroyers originated as "torpedo-boat destroyers", intended to sink enemy torpedo boats. Anti-submarine warfare was added when submarine became a threat. As aircraft became more important the destroyers added an anti-aircraft role. Destroyers are primarily defensive in nature and generally operate in groups rather than independently. In a modern context, DDs are the major anti-submarine ships and DDGs are anti-aircraft ships, but they retain multi-mission capabilities.

In addition to these defensive capabilities, it can support strike operations with long-range gunfire and land-attack missiles. It is this strike ability, mostly with Tomahawk missiles, that distinguish destroyers from frigates.

Frigates: Frigates are larger than corvettes. They are about the same size or just smaller than. Frigates today are multi-purpose platforms capable of long-range, long-endurance independent low and medium intensity missions. They are with advanced weapons, sensors and computer processing ability to defeat multiple air, surface and subsurface threats simultaneously and surviving in a high intensity environment. Stealth frigates are getting popular in the many navies.

Corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft, although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role.Corvette Small, generally slow escort-type vessel, generally intended for ASW. They are also sufficiently habitable and have the endurance for long-range operations. Best suited for coastal work but sometimes employed as a seagoing vessel. Often seem to be heavily armed for their size, but generally are lacking in things like sensors, electronics, reloads, range and accommodations.
Corvettes have a displacement between 540 and 2,750 long tons (and measure 180–330 feet (55–100 meters) in length. They are usually armed with medium- and small-caliber guns, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and underwater warfare weapons

FAC: Fast attack craft are smaller than corvettes and distinguishable from similar sized patrol craft by their higher speed (at least 25 knots). They are distinguishable also from inshore vessels by size, being around 50m in length, whereas the smaller craft are 30m or less. Due to their small size, FAC specialise in one discipline and cannot be considered multi-purpose platforms. Most are optimised for surface warfare using missiles and guns, and increasingly rarely, torpedoes.

Battleships: Battleships were the primary warships in the era of ship-to-ship combat with guns. They were equipped with the largest and greatest number of guns possible, and were heavily armored to protect them from similar enemy ships. Battleships were intended to engage in ship-on-ship or fleet-on-fleet combat with forces of enemy battleships. Battleship armor was generally heavy enough to protect the ship against it's own main armament

Offshore Patrol Vessel: (OPV) Modern classification for vessels similar in purpose to the 3rd class cruisers. Intended for duty in areas requiring presence but not major fighting power. Vessels tend to be optimized for good seakeeping, long range, good accommodations, easy maintenance and reliability. Generally slow and seemingly underarmed for their size

The World’s Navies classifies the ships as follows:
Cruisers: +10,000 tons
Light Cruisers: 5000 to 10,000 tons
Destroyers: 3000 to 4000 tons
Frigates: 1100 to 3000 tons
Corvettes: 500 to 1100 tons
FAC: +25 Knots
Large PC: 100 to 500 tons
Coastal PC: -500 tons

Port holes

The word "port hole" originated during the reign of Henry VI of England (1485). King Henry insisted on mounting guns too large for his ship and the traditional methods of securing these weapons on the forecastle and aftcastle could not be used. 

A French shipbuilder named James Baker was commissioned to solve the problem. He put small doors in the side of the ship and mounted the cannon inside the ship. These doors protected the cannon from weather and were opened when the cannon were to be used. The French word for "door" is "porte" which was later Anglicized to "port" and later went on to mean any opening in the ship's side, whether for cannon or not.

Dog Watch

Dog Watch is the name given to the 1600-1800 and the 1800-2000 watches aboard a ship. 

The 1600-2000 four-hour watch was originally split even to prevent men from always having to stand the same watches daily. As a result, Sailors dodge the same daily routine, hence they are dodging the watch or standing the dodge watch. In its corrupted form, dodge became dog and the procedure is referred as "dogging the watch" or standing the "dog watch."

Wetting Down a commission

In the old Navy, an officer's commission was hand-written on heavy parchment. According to some sources, the newly commissioned or promoted officer held a dinner for his shipmates and friends. During the course of the evening, the new commission was rolled into a cone, the small end folded up to form a cup. This paper cup was passed around the table for all the guests to toast the new officer. Thus, the new commission was "wetted down." Considering the importance of the document, however, this interpretation may be doubtful. Commissions inmost of  the navies were signed and issued by the President and were of great legal and personal value.

According to other sources, the wetting down party was once quite a rough and tumble affair. It was the custom for the officer to wear his new uniform or stripes for the first time at the wetting down. The guests would then proceed to christen the uniform, the occupant, and the commission with whatever liquid refreshment (paid for by the victim) was available. Over the years, however, Navy life has became more calm, the price of gold braid has skyrocketed and a literal christening is not usually condoned. It might even be considered downright unsociable.

Why does the Navy use a fouled anchor insignia?

An anchor that is foul of the cable or chain is a symbol found in various Navy crests.  No one really knows why the anchor was used as a symbol for the chief petty officer.

Many chiefs believe that it symbolizes the difficulty that they face everyday, but that is just a fanciful guess. The device is on the cap of the most naval officers, the distinguishing device of a Chief Petty Officer, the collar device of midshipman, and on the cap badges of the British naval officers.  

Many sailors regard the device a sign of poor seamanship.  Although, artistic to a civilian, it has been called a sailor's disgrace by some. 

The fouled anchor was first seen as an insignia of the Lord High Admiral of England, Lord Howard of Effignham, around 1588 during the Spanish Armada battle. More than 400 years later, the insignia is still the official seal for the admiral's office.

The fouled anchor insignia is just one example of how the British navy influenced the navies around the world.