Following the United States' entry into World War I, "New York", under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr., became flagship of Battleship Division 9 (BatDiv 9), commanded by Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman. She was sent to reinforce the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea, arriving at Scapa Flow on 7 December 1917. The ships of the U.S. fleet were assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet, the American ships joined in blockade and escort. In December 1917, "New York" and the other U.S. battleships took part in several gunnery exercises. "New York" scored the highest score of the ships for her main battery, with an accuracy of 93.3 percent. Ultimately the "New York" was the best performer in these exercises, the only ship rated as "excellent" while many of her sisters received mediocre performance reviews.