Notable Point · 31:03-35:28

Could American battleships keep pace with the Grand Fleet?

Most American dreadnoughts could match the Grand Fleet's battle speed, while stoker endurance and machinery support shaped deployment choices.

Notes

An earlier American entry creates the possibility of a US battle squadron fighting at Jutland. The objection that American battleships would slow the Grand Fleet is challenged because, apart from the South Carolina class, the dreadnoughts discussed could reach 21 knots. Coal-fired fleets normally steamed more slowly so that stokers were not exhausted before battle, even when turbines removed some of the machinery constraints of reciprocating engines. Florida and Wyoming class ships also used Parsons turbines that could be maintained in Britain. The slower or less convenient ships could serve in the Mediterranean, leaving the most suitable units with the Grand Fleet.