This class of two ships is the fifth type of dreadnought battleship to enter service in the United States Navy. Like the preceding Wyoming class, they had to be designed with no practical experience of dreadnought construction whatsoever, since none of their predecessors had yet been commissioned. In the light of the long expected move of foreign navies to greater main battery calibres, they received the brand new 14" guns as new main armament. Both ships entered service in 1914.