some extent. He added a forecastle to allow for better seakeeping and to make room for officers' quarters and restored the full height of the hull aft. The problem itself, however remained. Secondary guns The Naval War College in its 1905 Newport Summer Conference considered the guns fitted to the South Carolina class too light for effective anti-torpedo-boat defense. A committee on this issue formed during the conference suggested that a gun with a high velocity and flat trajectory would work best—one powerful enough to smash an attacking vessel yet light enough for easy handling and rapid firing. For this purpose, the committee found 5-inch guns appeared best suited. During the Delawares' design, C&R considered guns but concerns voiced by the Naval War College about the lack of heavy splinter protection for these guns and smoke uptakes led to an adaption of 5-inch /50 caliber guns to balance the increase in armor weight. The Delawares mounted fourteen 5-inch/50 caliber Mark 6 guns, two forward on the main deck, 10 in casemates on the side and two aft on the main deck abeam No. 5 turret. They had a rate of fire of 6 to 8 rounds per minute. They fired three types of rounds: a "light" AP shell that weighed and a "heavy" AP round that weighed . The third type was the Common Mark 15 shell, which also weighed 50 lb. The 50 lb shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of , while the larger 60 lb shells traveled at a slightly slower . The guns were emplaced on both Mark 9 and Mark 12 pedestal mounts; the Mark 9 version limited elevation to 15 degrees, while the Mark 12 allowed for up to 25 degrees. The 5-inch/50 was able to penetrate most effectively at , which was the deciding factor in the decision to equip the Delaware class with them. The 5-inch guns were supplied with a total of 240 rounds per barrel. While these guns were considered an improvement by the Navy over that of the South Carolinas, their placement remained problematic as even in calm water, they were extremely wet and thus difficult to man. The forward guns were moved into the superstructure after sea trials. The casemate-mounted secondary armament was one deck below the main deck and provided the majority of the complaints from shipping water from the forward positions and breaking the flow