With the arrival of the game-changing HMS Dreadnought battleship in British Royal Navy service during 1906, the naval powers of the world worked feverishly to catch up by updating existing designs or beginning construction of all new warship designs. The United States Navy (USN) followed the world trend and gave rise to several classes during the pre-World War 1 (1914-1918) period such as the Wyoming-class. This group numbered two warships, USS Wyoming (BB-32) and USS Arkansas (BB-33), and both went on to have storied careers in USN service. USS Arkansas, the focus of this article, was laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation on January 25th, 1910 and launched to sea on January 14th, 1911. She was formally commissioned on September 17th, 1912 and would managed a career until 1946. HMS Dreadnought was revolution because it became the first "all-big-gun" warship design to appear and its other key quality was its all-steam-based powerplant. The result was an excellent combination of power, firepower, armor, and performance. As built, USS Arkansas displaced 26,417 tons under standard load and 27,680 tons under full load. Dimensions included an overall length of 562 feet, a beam of 93.2 feet, and a draught of 29.6 feet. Machinery was made up of 12 x Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired, water-tubed boilers feeding 4 x Parsons direct-drive steam turbines generating 28,000 horsepower to 4 x Shafts under stern. Performance showcased a speed up to 20.5 knots and a range out to 8,000 nautical miles. Aboard was a crew numbering 1,063 personnel. Her profile included six total main turrets, a centralized hull superstructure and two main masts, one fore and the other aft of a pair of centrally-located smoke funnels. The armament suite was headed by 12 x 12" (305mm) /50 caliber Mark VII main guns arranged in six twin-gunned turrets, two forward of the hull superstructure and four aft of it. This was supported by 21 x 5" (127mm) /51 caliber secondary guns. 4 x 3-pounder (47mm) /40 caliber guns were used in the saluting / ceremonial role and the warship was outfitted with 2 x 21" (533mm) torpedo tubes in submerged positions along her beam. Armor protection went on to range 5 to 11 inches in thickness at the belt, up to 12 inches at the primary turret facings, 11 inches at the secondary turret barbettes, 11.5 inches at the conning tower and up to 2.5 inches at the decks. Overall, she was a well-protected, well-armed surface vessel. Commissioned in 1912, USS Arkansas was already in service by the time World War 1 (1914-1918) broke out in Europe during the summer of 1914. The United States remained on the sidelines until 1917 and warships like USS Arkansas were quickly placed into active wartime service, initially patrolling the critical lanes of the American East Coast. Despite she being attached to the Battleship Division 9 of the British Grand Fleet for 1918, she failed to see any direct combat against the enemy. The Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German empires were all but finished with the Armistice of November 1918.

With the arrival of the game-changing HMS Dreadnought battleship in British Royal Navy service during 1906, the naval powers of the world worked feverishly to catch up by updating existing designs or beginning construction of all new warship designs. The United States Navy (USN) followed the world trend and gave rise to several classes during the pre-World War 1 (1914-1918) period such as the Wyoming-class. This group numbered two warships, USS Wyoming (BB-32) and USS Arkansas (BB-33), and both went on to have storied careers in USN service. USS Arkansas, the focus of this article, was laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation on January 25th, 1910 and launched to sea on January 14th, 1911. She was formally commissioned on September 17th, 1912 and would managed a career until 1946. HMS Dreadnought was revolution because it became the first "all-big-gun" warship design to appear and its other key quality was its all-steam-based powerplant. The result was an excellent combination of power, firepower, armor, and performance. As built, USS Arkansas displaced 26,417 tons under standard load and 27,680 tons under full load. Dimensions included an overall length of 562 feet, a beam of 93.2 feet, and a draught of 29.6 feet. Machinery was made up of 12 x Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired, water-tubed boilers feeding 4 x Parsons direct-drive steam turbines generating 28,000 horsepower to 4 x Shafts under stern. Performance showcased a speed up to 20.5 knots and a range out to 8,000 nautical miles. Aboard was a crew numbering 1,063 personnel. Her profile included six total main turrets, a centralized hull superstructure and two main masts, one fore and the other aft of a pair of centrally-located smoke funnels. The armament suite was headed by 12 x 12" (305mm) /50 caliber Mark VII main guns arranged in six twin-gunned turrets, two forward of the hull superstructure and four aft of it. This was supported by 21 x 5" (127mm) /51 caliber secondary guns. 4 x 3-pounder (47mm) /40 caliber guns were used in the saluting / ceremonial role and the warship was outfitted with 2 x 21" (533mm) torpedo tubes in submerged positions along her beam. Armor protection went on to range 5 to 11 inches in thickness at the belt, up to 12 inches at the primary turret facings, 11 inches at the secondary turret barbettes, 11.5 inches at the conning tower and up to 2.5 inches at the decks. Overall, she was a well-protected, well-armed surface vessel. Commissioned in 1912, USS Arkansas was already in service by the time World War 1 (1914-1918) broke out in Europe during the summer of 1914. The United States remained on the sidelines until 1917 and warships like USS Arkansas were quickly placed into active wartime service, initially patrolling the critical lanes of the American East Coast. Despite she being attached to the Battleship Division 9 of the British Grand Fleet for 1918, she failed to see any direct combat against the enemy. The Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German empires were all but finished with the Armistice of November 1918.