July, 1905
Sydney
Vice-Admiral Von Otter, a Swede by birth, who had maintained a career in the British Royal Navy, had been appointed Viceroy a few years prior. Finding the task tedious, he requested a return to duty. Therefore he was appointed the new Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy forces in Australia (South Pacific Station) and of the Royal Australian Navy. The Duke of Connaught had been his replacement as Viceroy but Prince Arthur was now back in Britain serving as Regent for the underage Prince Albert Victor who technically could not ascend to the throne until 18 years (though the Privy Council could theoretically waive a few of those years but, at age 10, it would seem imprudent).
In the meantime, Von Otter would pull double-duty as temporary Viceroy while also reorganizing the FAN and RN fleets into a single functional navy. Fortunately, Von Otter was popular with the Australians, both the politicians and the sailors. He had supported Australian autonomy during his time as Viceroy and didn't meddle with local affairs overly much. As for the sailors, he earned their loyalty by demanding perfection and treating them as equals to the Royal Navy.
By 1905, the Royal Australian Navy had constructed three heavy battle cruisers, the HMAS Victoria, New South Wales and South Zealand locally in the Melbourne shipyards. Another, the North Zealand, was expected to launch in the Spring (October due to this being the Southern Hemisphere). Local construction had been demanded by the Australian Parliament not only for prestige reasons but a desire to diversify the remote Dominion's industrial base. Bearing among the highest gross income per capita in the world but much of the Australian prosperity was still based in primary resource extraction and agriculture. Australia aspired to be an industrial power in her own right not beholden to the mother country or any other.
In addition to the four medium battlecruisers of the Victoria-class, the Australians also had several ships built in Britain including two older cruisers and a host of smaller frigates, corvettes, etc. In addition to this, the Royal Navy usually offered a half dozen or so vessels to the Vice-Admiralty in Sydney on a rotating basis, often to give younger crews experience on the high seas they often could not get in Great Britain. These RN ships would be seconded to the Australian Fleet while in situ.
On the whole, this was an impressive fleet given that the population of the Dominion of Australia was still only 5,500,000 (Including Tasmania, North and South Zealand and Hawaii but not the "colonies" in the East Indies which were almost entirely Asian). Even maintaining a relatively modest fleet was expensive.
Still, with the obvious expansion of the Japanese and Chinese navies, the loss of India (and therefore a main harbor for the British Royal Navy) and the British financial crisis which severely tightened the strings of the Royal Navy would ensure that Australia felt more and more on its own in an ocean full of sharks. Britain's improved relations with America ensured that there would be challenge from THAT quarter but it remained obvious that Britain was no longer in a financial condition to simply outspend any (or all) other nations in naval spending. The mechanical age ensured that seamanship, long as great a strength to the Empire as her financial power, was less important than heavy armor and huge guns.
With obligations in North America, South America, Africa and so on, the Royal Navy would be stretched thin in any conflict and Australia facing Japan or China would likely be facing them alone.
Norfolk
The United States Navy, like most of the world's fleets, would engage in an ever-escalating arms race to build bigger and more powerful ships.
The Norfolk Naval Base and Construction Yard had been tasked with building the new, heavy "Michigan-Class" vessels, the most powerful the Americans had ever built. Of course, the rest of the world was doing the same. Rumor had it (well, American spies had it) that the British "Dreadnaught" launching the following year would put even the Michigan class to shame.
The USS Michigan would launch in 1905 while the South Carolina would follow in early 1906.
Other powerful ship classes included (with dates of production):
Maryland-class 1898-1904
Dakota-class - 1890-1897
Iowa-class 1890 - 1895
Mississippi-class 1886 - 1890
Louisiana-class - 1880-1888
These classes were alternately called "battleships", "heavy cruisers" or "ships of the line". Typically, if a ship hit 10 years old, it was likely already obsolete even if considered the epitome of modern vessels at time of launch. Most of these vessels had been refitted over the years with bigger guns, better armor, occasional stronger engines. If the heavy ships were not quite up to matching the most modern vessels, they still were considered ships of the line.
Lighter to medium cruisers (like the Connecticut-class), frigates, corvettes, destroyers (a new name gaining popularity) and various other vessels filled out the line.
American Atlantic Fleet: list of heaviest ships
Primary ports New York, Savannah and Norfolk
USS Michigan - Michigan-Class
USS Arizona -Dakota-class
USS Maine - Dakota-class
USS Mississippi - Mississippi Class
USS Delaware - Mississippi-class
USS Mescalero - Maryland-class
USS Florida - Maryland-class
USS Montana- Iowa-class
USS Massachusetts - Louisiana-class (older, refitted)
USS Virginia - Louisiana-class (older, refitted)
American West Indian Fleet: list of heaviest ships
Primary ports Mobile, Pensacola, Galveston, Key West, St. Thomas
USS Ohio - Dakota-class
USS Pennsylvania - Mississippi-class
USS Indiana - Mississippi-class
USS Kanawha - Mississippi-class
USS Oregon - Iowa-class
USS Santee - Iowa-class
USS Wisconsin - Maryland-class
USS Kansas - Louisiana-class (older, refitted)
American Pacific Fleet: list of heaviest ships
Primary ports: San Diego, San Francisco, Esquimalt, Apia, Guam, Midway, Tahiti
USS Yakima - Iowa-class
USS Idaho - Iowa-class
USS Santee - Iowa-class
USS North Carolina - Mississippi-class
USS California - Maryland-class
USS Missouri - Dakota-class
USS Louisiana - Louisiana-class (older, refitted ships)
USS Alabama - Louisiana-class (older, refitted ships)
Despite an ambitious ship-building program since the Civil War, the American Admiralty always felt more than a little behind. In truth, most nations felt this way and seldom launched more than one or two heavy ships in any given year. This was as much due to the potential for obsolescence as the high cost. Protected by two oceans and generally having good economic times (the last five years of the century being a notable exception), the American fleets rolled out a relatively steady streams of new vessels. Only occasionally over the past 40 years did the American sailors realize they'd fallen behind and would generally catch up quickly.