Reading the DD and seeing as how we only have 4 different model years for each naval vessel, I got to thinking about how to model the actual variation across time, country and within country in that context.
My thought was that Naval experience could be broken up into three levels.
General Experience: This is experience that can be used to build variants and upgrade all ships.
Type Experience: This is experience that can only be used on a certain type of ship. So destroyers, or submarines...
Model Experience: This is experience that could only be used on a given year and type of ships so "1923 destroyers," for example.
All of this experience can be combined to make variants.
When you research the requisite tech, the game should give you a little bit of Model experience for free. You can use it to upgrade your basic type a little bit or just save production cost and leave it as is.
In this way, a Japanese 1944 Destroyer will probably be different from a British 1944 Destroyer even though both countries researched the same 1944 Destroyer tech.
Now ships who are fighting would gain all three types of experience.
This accomplishes several things.
1) It prevents a Submarine to Aircraft carrier research pipeline.
The production system helps with this too, but, in this way, it makes it so Navies can't just accumulate a whole bunch of experiience with destroyers and then use it to build a super advanced carrier. They could always apply their general experience to making carrier variants, but it won't be as cost effective as the current system makes it.
2) It gives the players a real and historical status quo bias.
Navies of the time didn't radically change doctrine. The US is perhaps the only one that did, and only because Pearl Harbor sank the battleships, forcing them to focus on carriers and sub warfare vs. Japan.
With this system, most of the Naval experience that players will accrue will be Type Experience and Model Experience. Players who switch up from the old to the new model will have a reason not to beyond just the production cost. They will face the real historical challenge of the loss of skill and technical ability when switching to a new type or model.
3) The player is incentivized to build and use low tech models of the naval vessels.
One of the things I predict is going to happen is that players are going to tech rush to get to 1939-1941 naval vessels early and then only build those. Earlier models won't be built and early variants won't be made because people will want to save all of their Naval Experience for building the optimal Aircraft Carrier in 1941.
But that's not how it worked. A lot of the experience that Navies got was only useful for fixing problems with an existing class or type of ship.
By forcing players to leave some experience on the table when switching, there will be more of an incentive to build and improve earlier models. It could lead to things like a British player continuing production of 1923 Fleet destroyers, only this is a much upgraded model that's been optimized for ASW. Heck, maybe do the same for carriers and you have tiny 1923 carriers that have been optimized for coastal attack or sub hunting.
4) It incentivizes diversifying early as well.
If a player wants to have an amazing carrier fleet or sub fleet in 1941, they will be helped if they start building and using them early since that will build their Type and General Experience.
5) It will make national fleets unique and varied.
This system will help make it so each country has the historical situation of 2-3 types of 1941 cruiser, for example. The Model experience will give players an incentive to vary even within their own tech year.
There are, of course, numerous problems with the idea and this is more of a brain storm for future modders than a design of a core system, but I'm interested to hear what people think.
My thought was that Naval experience could be broken up into three levels.
General Experience: This is experience that can be used to build variants and upgrade all ships.
Type Experience: This is experience that can only be used on a certain type of ship. So destroyers, or submarines...
Model Experience: This is experience that could only be used on a given year and type of ships so "1923 destroyers," for example.
All of this experience can be combined to make variants.
When you research the requisite tech, the game should give you a little bit of Model experience for free. You can use it to upgrade your basic type a little bit or just save production cost and leave it as is.
In this way, a Japanese 1944 Destroyer will probably be different from a British 1944 Destroyer even though both countries researched the same 1944 Destroyer tech.
Now ships who are fighting would gain all three types of experience.
This accomplishes several things.
1) It prevents a Submarine to Aircraft carrier research pipeline.
The production system helps with this too, but, in this way, it makes it so Navies can't just accumulate a whole bunch of experiience with destroyers and then use it to build a super advanced carrier. They could always apply their general experience to making carrier variants, but it won't be as cost effective as the current system makes it.
2) It gives the players a real and historical status quo bias.
Navies of the time didn't radically change doctrine. The US is perhaps the only one that did, and only because Pearl Harbor sank the battleships, forcing them to focus on carriers and sub warfare vs. Japan.
With this system, most of the Naval experience that players will accrue will be Type Experience and Model Experience. Players who switch up from the old to the new model will have a reason not to beyond just the production cost. They will face the real historical challenge of the loss of skill and technical ability when switching to a new type or model.
3) The player is incentivized to build and use low tech models of the naval vessels.
One of the things I predict is going to happen is that players are going to tech rush to get to 1939-1941 naval vessels early and then only build those. Earlier models won't be built and early variants won't be made because people will want to save all of their Naval Experience for building the optimal Aircraft Carrier in 1941.
But that's not how it worked. A lot of the experience that Navies got was only useful for fixing problems with an existing class or type of ship.
By forcing players to leave some experience on the table when switching, there will be more of an incentive to build and improve earlier models. It could lead to things like a British player continuing production of 1923 Fleet destroyers, only this is a much upgraded model that's been optimized for ASW. Heck, maybe do the same for carriers and you have tiny 1923 carriers that have been optimized for coastal attack or sub hunting.
4) It incentivizes diversifying early as well.
If a player wants to have an amazing carrier fleet or sub fleet in 1941, they will be helped if they start building and using them early since that will build their Type and General Experience.
5) It will make national fleets unique and varied.
This system will help make it so each country has the historical situation of 2-3 types of 1941 cruiser, for example. The Model experience will give players an incentive to vary even within their own tech year.
There are, of course, numerous problems with the idea and this is more of a brain storm for future modders than a design of a core system, but I'm interested to hear what people think.
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). I agree there's some benefit in terms of gameplay depth (but offset by an increase in gameplay complexity) in disaggregating experience types down a bit (for example, I'd love to split 'jet' and 'rocket' experience off from 'prop' experience, and also split bombers from single engine aircraft, but unless they're flying boats, then that's off-topic 
