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The ''Montana''-class battleships of the United States Navy were planned as successors to the , being slower but larger, better armored, and having superior firepower. Five were approved for construction during World War II, but changes in wartime building priorities resulted in their cancellation in favor of the s and before any ''Montana''-class keels were laid. With beams of 121 feet, they would have been the first U.S. battleships as originally designed to be too wide to transit the 110-foot-wide locks of the Panama Canal. Intended armament would have been 12 Mark 7 guns in four triple turrets, up from the ''Iowas' '' three triple 16s. With an increased anti-aircraft capability and thicker armor belt, the ''Montana'' class would have been the largest, best-protected, and most heavily armed U.S. battleships ever, the only class to come close to rivaling the Empire of Japan's immense s. 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. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor delayed construction of the ''Montana'' class. The success of carrier combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea and, to a greater extent, the Battle of Midway, diminished the value of the battleship. Consequently, the US Navy chose to cancel the ''Montana'' class in favor of more urgently needed aircraft carriers, amphibious and anti-submarine vessels.〔In theory, the US Navy could resume construction of battleships by building the ''Montana''-class battleships but the maintenance, cost, and vulnerability of battleships in modern warfare make this an unlikely and unattractive option.〕 Because the ''Iowa''s were fast enough to escort the new s, their orders were retained, making them the last US Navy battleships to be commissioned. == History == As the political situation in Europe and Asia worsened in the prelude to World War II, Carl Vinson, the chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs, instituted the Vinson Naval Plan, which aimed to get the Navy into fighting shape after the cutbacks imposed by the Great Depression and pair of London Naval Treaties of the 1930s. As part of the overall plan Congress passed the Second Vinson Act in 1938, which cleared the way for construction of the four ''South Dakota''-class fast battleships and the first two fast battleships (hull numbers BB-61 and BB-62). Four additional battleships (with hull numbers BB-63, BB-64, BB-65, and BB-66) were approved for construction in 1940,〔 with the last two intended to be the first ships of the ''Montana'' class. By 1942, it was apparent to the US Navy high command that they needed as many fast battleships as possible, and hull numbers BB-65 and BB-66 were allocated to planned fast battleships and .〔Naval Historical Center. Bureau of Ships' "Spring Styles" Book # 3 (1939–1944) – (Naval Historical Center Lot # S-511) – Battleship Preliminary Design Drawings. Retrieved 2007-12-01.〕 The Navy, mindful of the ongoing construction of Japan's battleships, had been working on a 58,000-ton "super battleship" concept since 1938.〔 This new class, with twelve guns, was assigned the name ''Montana'' and cleared for construction by the United States Congress under the Two-Ocean Navy Act in 1940; funding for the new ships was approved in 1941. These ships, the last battleships to be ordered by the Navy, were originally to be designated BB-65 through BB-69; however, BB-65 and BB−66 were subsequently re-ordered as ''Iowa''-class ships, ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'', and the ''Montana''s were redesignated BB-67 through BB-71.〔 Completion of the ''Montana''-class, and the last two ''Iowa''-class battleships, was intended to give the US Navy a considerable advantage over any other nation, or probable combination of nations, with a total of 17 new battleships by the late 1940s.〔These 17 battleships were authorized after the treaty agreements from the Second London Naval Conference expired on 1 January 1937 (), and include the battleships and , the ''South Dakota''-class battleships , , , and , the battleships , , , , , and , and the ''Montana''-class battleships , , , , and . ()〕 The ''Montana''s also would have been the only American ships to come close to equaling Japan's massive ''Yamato'' and her sister ''Musashi'' in terms of size and firepower,〔 with only the ''Kriegsmarine'' having even more enormous battleships planned, with their H-42 and onwards designs exceeding the ''Montana'' class in size and capabilities. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Montana-class battleship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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