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| USS Delaware (BB-28) | |
|---|---|
| Shipname | USS Delaware (BB-28) |
| Country | United States |
| Namesake | Delaware (state) |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons |
| Laid down | 2 February 1907 |
| Launched | 2 May 1909 |
| Commissioned | 4 February 1910 |
| Decommissioned | 26 February 1924 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1924–1926 under Washington Naval Treaty |
| Displacement | 20,380 long tons (standard) |
| Length | 518 ft 9 in (158.1 m) |
| Beam | 85 ft 3 in (26.0 m) |
| Draft | 28 ft 3 in (8.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbines |
| Speed | 21 knots |
| Complement | ~1,001 officers and enlisted |
| Armour | Belt up to 11 in; turret faces up to 12 in |
| Armament | 10 × 12 in guns; 21 × 5 in guns; 2 × 21 in torpedo tubes |
USS Delaware (BB-28) USS Delaware (BB-28) was a pre-World War I dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy and lead ship of the Delaware class. Commissioned in 1910, she represented a significant step in American naval architecture and fleet capability, serving in peacetime training, convoy protection during World War I, and later as a training and experimental platform before being scrapped under the Washington Naval Treaty.
Designed in the aftermath of the HMS Dreadnought revolution and the naval expansion debates influenced by figures like Theodore Roosevelt and Alfred Thayer Mahan, the Delaware class aimed to maximize firepower and protection. Ordered from William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia, Delaware was laid down on 2 February 1907 and launched on 2 May 1909, joining contemporaries such as USS North Dakota (BB-29) and the South Carolina class. Her machinery featured direct-drive steam turbines influenced by developments at Harland and Wolff and lessons from HMS Invincible. Naval architects considered influences from the Washington Naval Treaty era debates, even though that treaty postdated her design. Construction at Cramp reflected American industrial capacity during the administrations of William Howard Taft and the naval policies of the Naval Appropriations Act cycles.
Delaware mounted a main battery of ten 12-inch/45 caliber guns in five twin turrets, a heavier arrangement than preceding South Carolina designs and comparable to contemporary Royal Navy dreadnoughts. Her secondary battery originally comprised twenty-one 5-inch/50 caliber guns for defense against smaller vessels and torpedo craft, alongside two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. Armor protection included a main belt up to 11 inches thick, turret faces up to 12 inches, and decks designed to resist shellfire informed by experiences at Battle of Tsushima and studies of Jeune École critiques. Fire control systems evolved through her career, incorporating rangefinders and director techniques developed by the Bureau of Ordnance and influenced by innovations from Admiral William S. Sims and Joseph Strauss in gunnery and engineering.
After commissioning, Delaware joined the Atlantic Fleet and participated in training exercises, cruises, and diplomatic visits reflecting gunboat diplomacy trends and the Great White Fleet precedent set under Theodore Roosevelt. She took part in fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea, training in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and U.S. entry in 1917, Delaware was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties, coordinating with units from the Royal Navy and the Grand Fleet on transatlantic security operations. Under commanders who reported to the CNO and worked with the Bureau of Navigation, Delaware contributed to the protection of troop and supply convoys bound for Western Front operations, operating alongside armored cruisers and destroyer screens including USS Noma (SP-131) and units of the Destroyer Force (Atlantic Fleet). Postwar, she participated in goodwill visits to Mediterranean Sea ports and supported naval reserve training missions tied to the United States Naval Academy and Naval War College.
Following the Armistice and during the interwar period, Delaware underwent refits addressing propulsion, accommodations, and fire control modernization similar to upgrades seen on USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and other capital ships. Boiler and turbine maintenance reflected lessons from Admiralty engineering reports and the evolving practices codified by the Naval Consulting Board. Her upgrades aimed to improve habitability and combat effectiveness amid budget constraints imposed by the Washington Naval Conference (1921–22), which ultimately set tonnage limits and influenced decisions to retire older battleships. Despite modernization efforts, treaty obligations and the emergence of newer classes like the Colorado-class battleship limited her operational prospects.
Although Delaware was stricken and sold for scrap prior to World War II, her legacy influenced interwar naval policy, tactics, and training programs that shaped American preparations for the later conflict. Officers and sailors who served aboard prewar battleships including Delaware later held commands in the Pacific Fleet, Battle of Midway, and Guadalcanal Campaign, applying seamanship, gunnery, and engineering practices refined aboard early 20th-century dreadnoughts. The ship's operational history informed curricula at the United States Naval Academy and tactical doctrine debated at the Naval War College, affecting carrier-vs.-battleship discourse exemplified by officers like Chester W. Nimitz and William Halsey Jr..
Delaware was decommissioned and placed in reserve before being struck in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty limitations. She was sold for scrap in 1924 and broken up at shipbreaking facilities influenced by international salvage firms that handled hulls from numerous navies. The scrapping process paralleled the dismantling of other treaty-signatory capital ships, contributing steel and equipment to peacetime industries during the administration of Calvin Coolidge and within the broader economic context preceding the Great Depression (1929).
Category:Delaware-class battleships Category:Ships built by William Cramp and Sons Category:United States Navy battleships Category:1909 ships