Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Weaponry categories

The following are guidelines for the categorization of weapons.

Note that proposals may be listed here in yellow boxes pending consensus on the talk pages for adoption.

 Text in this kind of yellow box denotes a proposal. See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Weaponry/Categories for discussion regarding this proposal.

Categorization by country
 Weapons-related categories by country should follow the same policy set forward by Naming conventions (categories). In particular, weapons, like other military equipment, should be generally in the 'X of Country' format (ex. Category:Guided missiles of Russia).

Categorization of guided missiles


General guidelines
Guided missiles are categorized in broad ways:
 * 1) By type: Type is the general type of missile:  Category:Anti-tank missiles, Category:Surface-to-air missiles.  Types may be sub-sets of other types:  Category:Nuclear cruise missiles is a sub-set of Category:Nuclear missiles and Category:Cruise missiles.
 * 2) By country: Listed in accordance with Naming conventions (categories) by country of origin.
 * 3) By operator: Operator categories list missiles known to be operated by a particular entity: Category:Guided missiles of the United States Navy; but most were deleted, see CFD 2013 July 6.
 * 4) By conflict: Conflicts include actual wars and other identifiable events in which guided missiles were used: Category:Guided missiles of the Cold War

Type categorization
The following is a basic tree of missile types:
 * Category:Air-to-air missiles: As per article air-to-air missile.
 * Category:Air-to-surface missiles: As per article air-to-surface missile.
 * Category:Anti-ballistic missiles: As per article anti-ballistic missile.
 * Category:Anti-radiation missiles: As per article anti-radiation missile.
 * Category:Anti-ship missiles: As per article anti-ship missile.
 * Category:Anti-ship cruise missiles: Also sub-set of Category:Cruise missiles.
 * Category:Anti-tank guided missiles: As per article anti-tank guided missile.
 * Category:Ballistic missiles: As per article ballistic missile.
 * Category:Intercontinental ballistic missiles: As per article intercontinental ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Nuclear missiles.
 * Category:Intermediate-range ballistic missiles: As per article intermediate-range ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Nuclear missiles.
 * Category:Medium-range ballistic missiles: As per article medium-range ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Nuclear missiles.
 * Category:Short-range ballistic missiles: As per article short-range ballistic missile
 * Category:Theatre ballistic missiles: As per article theatre ballistic missile
 * Category:Submarine-launched ballistic missiles: As per article submarine-launched ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Nuclear missiles.
 * Category:Cruise missiles: As per article cruise missile.
 * Category:Anti-ship cruise missiles: Also sub-set of Category:Anti-ship missiles.
 * Category:Naval cruise missiles: Cruise missiles launched from sea
 * Category:Nuclear cruise missiles: Also sub-set of Category:Nuclear missiles.
 * Category:Decoy missiles: Missile for use as a decoy
 * Category:Guided bombs: Also sub-set of Category:Bombs
 * Category:Nuclear missiles: Missiles with nuclear warheads
 * Category:Intercontinental ballistic missiles: As per article Intercontinental ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Ballistic missiles.
 * Category:Intermediate-range ballistic missiles: As per article Intermediate-range ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Ballistic missiles.
 * Category:Medium-range ballistic missiles: As per article Medium-range ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Ballistic missiles.
 * Category:Nuclear cruise missiles: Also sub-set of Category:Cruise missiles.
 * Category:Submarine-launched ballistic missiles: As per article submarine-launched ballistic missile, also sub-set of Category:Ballistic missiles.
 * Category:Surface-to-air missiles: As per article surface-to-air missile.
 * Category:Target missiles: Missiles operated as targets for testing and training

Country categorization
See the naming conventions for country-related categories as a baseline. All country-based guided missile articles should be categorized under Category:Guided missiles by country and pipe-sorted by the country name. Sub-categories within a country may be by type or conflict. For type categories, replace 'guided missiles' and replace with the type, for example: Category:Anti-tank guided missiles of Germany. For conflict-related categories, simply prefix the name with the conflict name, for example: Category:Cold War missiles of the Soviet Union. These can be combined as in the example: Category:Cold War surface-to-air missiles of the Soviet Union, and these should be sub-sets of both type and conflict categories. Thus Category:Cold War anti-tank guided missiles of the United States would be under Category:Cold War anti-tank missiles, Category:Cold War guided missiles of the United States, and Category:Anti-tank guided missiles of the United States.

Conflict categorization
For missiles which have been used in combat or otherwise had a notable relationship with a conflict, it is useful to categorize them as such. This is subjective and it is not necessary, nor even desirable to list the missile under every conflict which happened during its career. Indeed, only conflicts where the missile was used, or at least deployed by a combatant in the theatre, are likely good candidates. Even if a missile was in service with one of the combatants, but was never deployed to the conflict theatre, or did nothave any relation to the events of the conflict, then it is not a good idea to list it. For example, the LGM-118A Peacekeeper ICBM was in service with the United States Air Force during the Gulf War, but since the war certainly did not involve the missile, it is pointless to list it as a Gulf War missile. On the other hand, it would be well listed as a Cold War missile, because even though it only served in the last few years, and obviously never was fired in anger, it still played a notable role in the history of that conflict.

The following conflicts are good candidates for having missiles listed:


 * Category:World War II guided missiles: The first war to see their use.
 * Category:Guided missiles of the Cold War: From after WWII through 1990
 * Category:Vietnam War guided missiles
 * Category:Iran-Iraq War guided missiles
 * Category:Gulf War guided missiles
 * Category:Kosovo War guided missiles
 * Category:Iraq War guided missiles

Operator categorization
Categorization by operator is also discretionary, but missiles should be linked with each known operator of the missile. Category names are in the format of the proper name of the operator (United States Army, Royal Air Force) followed by the type: Category:Luftwaffe guided missiles, Category:Soviet Air Force nuclear missiles. Only as much sub-categorization as necessary to keep the size limited is needed.

Operator categories are sub-sets of the 'by country' category as appropriate to the operator, as well as the type, for example: Category:Royal Air Force air-to-air missiles would be a sub-set of Category:Royal Air Force guided missiles and Category:Air-to-air missiles by operator