By the end of the First world war the Navy of the United States of America was large, but very strange composition: a significant linear force, the almost complete lack of any modern cruisers and a huge number of standard “flush-deck” destroyers, hundreds of which are still in completion. All attempts of heads of the Navy to proceed to create a new, more modern torpedo ships long enough to encounter the displeasure of congressmen, preached isolationism and “reasonable sufficiency”. Only fifteen years later, when the gap in class destroyers aggressively competing for first place in the world fleet has become abundantly clear to the American admirals were able to overcome political and financial obstacles.
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