Delaware class
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Delaware class | |
Type: | Battleship |
Predecessor: | South Carolina class |
Successor: | Florida class |
Technical specifications | |
displacement | 20,380 long tons |
length | 158.00 m |
width | 26.1 meters |
Draft: | 8.31 m |
Top speed: | 21 kn |
Crew: | 933 |
Armament: |
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The Delaware class was a battleship class of the United States Navy , which was constructed according to the new principle "all main guns in one caliber" of the HMS Dreadnought. The two ships of the class were used in the First World War .
planning
With the commissioning of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906, Great Britain had made all previously built and all battleships under construction in the world virtually unusable and, inadvertently, given all the world's navies the opportunity to rise to the front positions of the naval forces with just a few newbuildings. The arms race hysteria that followed also gripped the US Navy and the South Carolina class under construction , which were believed to be inadequate. So began the development of the Delaware class . The type ship of the class was still powered by a steam engine, her sister ship the USS North Dakota already received a modern steam turbine. The class carried five twin turrets in 12-inch (304.8-mm) caliber.
Delaware class ships
USS Delaware (BB-28)
The USS Delaware was laid down on November 11, 1907 and launched on February 6, 1909. The ship entered service on April 4, 1910. The ship was assigned to the American Atlantic Fleet. On June 24, 1911, she took part in the naval parade in honor of King George V of England. The ship was involved in the occupation of Veracruz by the USA in 1914 . The USS Delaware was used for escort duties after the USA entered the First World War . As a maritime arms race between the remaining powers began immediately after the end of the war, the Washington Naval Conference was convened in 1922 , at which disarmament was decided. In the course of this measure, the USS Delaware was designated for scrapping and demolished in 1924.
USS North Dakota (BB-29)
The USS North Dakota was laid down on December 16, 1907 and launched on November 10, 1909. The ship entered service on April 11, 1910. She was used to train cadets from the United States Naval Academy . After the incident with Mexico , like many other US Navy units, it was deployed off Veracruz . After the USA entered the war, the USS North Dakota was withheld in home waters because the naval command did not trust its new machines. Like her sister ship, she fell victim to the 1922 disarmament treaties and was scrapped.
Web links
literature
- Norman Friedman: US Battleships. An Illustrated Design History. Naval Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0-87021-715-1 .