The Delaware-class battleships of the United States Navy were the second class of American dreadnoughts. With this class, the 16,000-ton limit imposed on capital ships by the United States Congress was waived, which allowed designers at the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair to correct what they considered flaws in the preceding South Carolina class and produce ships not only more powerful but also more effective and rounded overall. Launched in 1909, these ships became the first in U.S. naval history to exceed 20,000 tons.