USS North Dakota (BB-29)

North Dakota underway, circa 1912
History
United States
Name:	North Dakota
Namesake:	State of North Dakota
Ordered:	2 March 1907
Builder:	Fore River Shipyard
Laid down:	16 December 1907
Launched:	10 November 1908
Sponsored by:	Mary Benton
Commissioned:	11 April 1910
Decommissioned:	22 November 1923
Struck:	7 January 1931
Identification:	Hull symbol:BB-29
Fate:	Sold for scrap 16 March 1931
General characteristics
Class and type:	Delaware-class battleship
Displacement:	20,380 long tons (20,707 t) (standard) 22,400 long tons (22,759 t) (full load)
Length:	518 ft 9 in (158 m) (overall) 510 ft (155 m) (waterline)
Beam:	85 ft 3 in (26 m)
Draft:	27 ft 3 in (8 m) (mean) 28 ft 10 in (9 m) (max)
Installed power:	14 × coal-fired superheating Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers 25,000 shp (18,642 kW)
Propulsion:	Curtis steam turbines 2 × screws
Speed:	21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range:	6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) @ 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Crew:	933 officers and men
Armament:	10 × 12 in (305 mm)/45 caliber Mark 5 guns 14 × 5 in (127 mm)/50 cal Mark 6 guns 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.85 in)/40 cal guns 4 × 1-pounder 37 mm (1.46 in) guns 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (submerged)
Armor:	Belt: 9–11 in (229–279 mm) Lower casemate: 8–10 in (203–254 mm) Upper casemate: 5 in (127 mm) Barbettes: 4–10 in (102–254 mm) Turret face: 12 in (305 mm) Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm) Decks: 2 in (51 mm)

USS North Dakota (BB-29) was a dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy, the second member of the Delaware class, her only sister ship being Delaware. North Dakota was laid down at the Fore River Shipyard in December 1907, was launched in November 1908, and commissioned into the US Navy in April 1910. She was armed with a main battery of ten 12-inch (305 mm) guns and was capable of a top speed of 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h). North Dakota was the first vessel of the US Navy to be named after the 39th state.

North Dakota had a peaceful career; she was present during the United States occupation of Veracruz in 1914, but did not see action. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, North Dakota remained in the US, training crewmen for the rapidly expanding wartime Navy, and therefore did not see combat. She remained on active duty through the early 1920s, until she was decommissioned under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in November 1923, and subsequently converted into a radio-controlled target ship. She served in that capacity until 1930, when she was replaced in that role by Utah. In 1931, she was sold for scrapping and thereafter dismantled.

North Dakota was 518 ft 9 in (158 m) long overall and had a beam of 85 ft 3 in (26 m) and a draft of 27 ft 3 in (8 m). She displaced 20,380 long tons (20,707 t) as designed and up to 22,400 long tons (22,759 t) at full combat load. The ship was powered by two-shaft Curtis steam turbines and fourteen coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers, generating a top speed of 21 knots. The ship had a cruising range of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at a speed of 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h). She had a crew of 933 officers and men. Her bow had an early example of bulbous forefoot.