page_title: Montana-class battleship
section_title: Ships
hierarchical_section_title: Montana-class battleship / Ships
caption_attribution_description: Artist's conception of the U.S. Navy Montana-class battleships (BB-67 to BB-71) whose construction was cancelled on 21 July 1943. This artwork depicts the ship fitted with a heavy battery of anti-aircraft guns, as would have been the case had she been completed.
context_page_description: The Montana-class battleships were planned as successors of the Iowa class for the United States Navy, to be slower but larger, better armored, and with superior firepower. Five were approved for construction during World War II, but changes in wartime building priorities resulted in their cancellation in favor of continuing production of Essex-class aircraft carriers and Iowa-class battleships before any Montana-class keels were laid.
  Intended armament would have been twelve 16-inch Mark 7 guns in four 3-gun turrets, up from the Iowas' nine Mark 7 guns in three turrets. Unlike the three preceding classes of battleships, the Montana class was designed without any restrictions from treaty limitations. With an increased anti-aircraft capability and substantially thicker armor in all areas, the Montanas would have been the largest, best-protected, and most heavily armed U.S. battleships ever. They were also the only class to rival the Empire of Japan's immense Yamato-class battleships.
  Preliminary design work for the Montana class began before the US entry into World War II. The first two vessels were approved by Congress in 1939 following the passage of the Second Vinson Act.
context_section_description: Five ships of the Montana class were authorized on 19 July 1940, but they were suspended indefinitely until being canceled on 21 July 1943. The ships were to be built at the New York Navy Yard, Philadelphia Navy Yard and Norfolk Navy Yard.
caption: An artist impression of what a Montana-class battleship would have looked like.
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