 The Delawares were significantly more powerful than their predecessors , the South Carolina @-@ class , and are mentioned by Conway 's All the World 's Fighting Ships as the first to match the standard set by the British with Dreadnought . This was due in large part to the elimination of Congressional limits on the size of new battleships ; the only restriction the Congress placed on their design was that the cost of hull and machinery could not exceed 6 million USD . The Delaware @-@ class ships were also significantly larger than the South Carolinas . They were 510 ft ( 155 m ) long at the waterline and 518 ft 9 in ( 158 m ) long overall . By comparison , the South Carolina @-@ class ships were 452 ft 9 in ( 138 m ) long overall . The Delawares had a beam of 85 ft 3 in ( 26 m ) and a draft of 27 ft 3 in ( 8 m ) ; the South Carolinas measurements were 80 ft 3 in ( 24 m ) and 24 ft 6 in ( 7 m ) , respectively . The Delaware @-@ class ships displaced 20 @,@ 380 long tons ( 20 @,@ 707 t ) at standard displacement and 22 @,@ 060 long tons ( 22 @,@ 414 t ) at full load , while the South Carolinas displaced 16 @,@ 000 long tons ( 16 @,@ 257 t ) at standard displacement and 17 @,@ 617 long tons ( 17 @,@ 900 t ) at full load . Their bows had an early example of bulbous forefeet . 
