Class labels can conceal standardised destroyer families

The Midway destroyer list spans the American Farragut, Porter, Mahan, and Sims classes and the Japanese Asashio, Kagero, and Yugumo classes. First launch is used to date each class because the basic design had to be settled by then, even though later ships could receive modifications. On both sides, the ships often resemble successive versions of a broadly standard destroyer rather than wholly separate design concepts. DINO can mean "difference in name only" or, when refinements still matter, the more cautious "difference in nuance only." This distinction helps readers judge whether a new class label represents a major capability change or a modest evolution of an established design.