A 1910 goodwill cruise despite first-generation turbine ageing

North Dakota had already crossed the Atlantic for a 1910 goodwill visit to Britain and France before later officials questioned her machinery for wartime service. Early turbines are described as ageing quickly under use, with HMS Dreadnought's maintenance problems providing a British comparison. Charles Parsons had especially strong reasons to supervise Dreadnought's machinery closely because a public failure would have damaged both the turbine cause and his firm. North Dakota's successful early voyage therefore did not settle the reliability question for an immature propulsion system. Her diplomatic employment still provides evidence of what the machinery could accomplish before its later replacement.