 After the First World War , the Imperial German Navy 's High Seas Fleet that had challenged the Royal Navy for supremacy was scuttled in Scapa Flow , but the Royal Navy was already facing serious challenges to its position as the world 's most powerful fleet from the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy . The United States ' determination to create what Admiral of the Navy George Dewey called " a navy second to none " presaged a new maritime arms race . 
