The New Steel Navy began before American industry possessed every tool needed to build a modern capital ship. Ships promised in the late 1880s and early 1890s faced delays because no American press could make armour plate of the required thickness. A suitable press had to be ordered from Britain, manufactured, shipped, reassembled, and commissioned with help from British instructors. Within roughly twenty-five years, American yards could build battleships such as Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Japan's construction of three of the four Kongo-class ships provides a comparable example of rapid industrial development. Both countries had made substantial progress while still acquiring capabilities that established naval powers already possessed.
Notable Point · 1:16:29-1:18:34
How the New Steel Navy built an industrial base in one generation
The United States had to import an armour-plate press and British instructors before rapidly developing the industry that built its early twentieth-century battleships.