North Dakota brings turbine power to the American battle line

Delaware and North Dakota share five centerline twin turrets, including superfiring positions, and can bring ten 12-inch guns onto a broadside. This arrangement avoids the severe firing limits of wing turrets and requires relatively little turning to engage a target with the full battery. The decisive distinction is machinery: Delaware retains vertical triple-expansion engines, while North Dakota uses Curtis turbines. The figures presented put both ships at about 21 knots, but North Dakota can sustain high speed more effectively. The comparison therefore identifies North Dakota, rather than Delaware, as the first American dreadnought presenting a capability Britain needs to match.