

The list of US Battleships end with the USS Wisconsin (BB-64), the last commissioned US Battleship. This is the same approach the Imperial German Navy had gone through about two decades earlier. The US responded with the experimental coastal defense Battleships USS Maine and USS Texas. All of a sudden Brazil had the most powerful navy in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1883 the Brazilian Navy took delivery of the Battleship Riachuelo – a coastal pre-dreadnought of 5,029 tons and four nine-inch guns. War torn and scarred after the Civil War, the main focus was still on coastal and river monitors.Īs several South American nations started acquiring armored ships, the US found itself trailing behind. The US and its Navy was late to become a top-tier blue-water super power. As a result, ships with the same name can easily be told apart. USS Delaware was broken up for scrap in 1924, while USS North Dakota eventually met the same fate in 1931, after serving as a target ship for several years.US Battleships are easier to keep track of than those from any other nation because of their unique hull number.

As a result, both of the Delaware-class battleships were gradually put out of service during the 1920s while newer battleships were built to replace them. Upon the treaty’s signing, the Navy’s strength was limited, particularly in battleships. Following the end of WWI, both ships mostly continued their peaceful service until the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. While USS Delaware was operating overseas in European waters, USS North Dakota was kept close to the American shoreline due to concerns about its novel propulsion system. Although sister ships, USS North Dakota featured a different propulsion system than USS Delaware - namely a steam turbine instead of a traditional steam engine.īoth ships saw only limited action, despite serving through the WWI period. The two ships of the class, USS Delaware and USS North Dakota, were both commissioned into service with the USN in April 1910.

Being larger, better armed and more protected than the preceding South Carolinas, the Delaware-class battleships were ordered for construction and laid down in 1907. Despite the fact that the new ships were not generally inferior to the British competitor, they were criticized for their small hull size and weak auxiliary artillery.Īs a result, the Delaware-class battleships were developed during the mid 1900s. When the British Dreadnought was built, the United States had been completing their own “all-big-guns” battleship, the South Carolina class.
