Why North Dakota qualifies as a true dreadnought

The opening comparison sets North Dakota beside her sister USS Delaware, whose triple-expansion machinery represented the range-efficient choice many American planners expected. Trial data complicate that expectation: Delaware produced 28,570 indicated horsepower and 21.44 knots, while turbine-powered North Dakota produced 33,875 indicated horsepower and 21.83 knots. North Dakota was also credited with 6,500 nautical miles at 12 knots, compared with Delaware's 6,000 at 10 knots. Propulsion performance is therefore part of the dreadnought threshold instead of a label based on gun layout alone. On that definition, North Dakota becomes the US Navy's first true dreadnought rather than one of the earlier ships with triple-expansion engines.