Fast Battleship - World War II Designs

World War II Designs

In 1938 the USA, Britain and France agreed to invoke the above-mentioned escalator clause of the Second London Treaty, allowing them to build up to 45,000 tons standard. By this time, all three allied nations were already committed to new 35,000-ton designs: the US North Carolinas (two ships) and South Dakotas (four), the British King George V class (five ships) and the French Richelieus (two completed out of four planned, the last of the class, Gascogne, to a greatly modified design).

The UK and US laid down follow-on classes, designed to the new 45,000 ton standard, in 1939 and 1940 respectively. The US succeeded in completing four of the intended six Iowas, but the British Lion class would prove abortive; two of the planned four units were laid down, in the summer of 1939, but neither was completed. They would have embarked 9 16-inch (406 mm) guns and, at 29 to 30 knots (60 km/h), would have been significantly faster than the King George V class. The UK did complete one final battleship to an “emergency” design, the Vanguard, built around the 15-inch (381 mm) gun mountings removed from the cruisers Courageous and Glorious after their conversion to aircraft carriers. Completed in 1946, she was similar in speed to the Lions.

The last two US capital ship designs were the first since 1922 to be entirely free of treaty constraints, and were sharply contrasted. The huge Montana class battleships represent a return to “normal American practice” in battleship design, with massive protection, heavy firepower, and moderate speed (27 knots). At 60,500 tons standard, they approached the size of the Yamatos, which they resembled in concept. Four of these ships were ordered, but they were ill-suited to the needs of fast carrier task force operations, and none were laid down.