Editing Montana-class battleship (section)

== Background ==
[[File:USS Missouri (BB-63) underway in August 1944.jpg|thumb|left|{{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} of the {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|4}}, the predecessors of the ''Montana'' class]]

During the [[interwar period]], the US Navy was primarily concerned with its rival in the Pacific Ocean, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. The international naval arms limitation system initiated by the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] in 1922 had accorded the US Navy superiority over Japan in terms of total tonnage.{{sfn|Kuehn|2008|pp=1–3}} After the ten-year construction moratorium that had been imposed by the Washington Treaty expired, the US Navy began building the {{sclass|North Carolina|battleship|0}} [[fast battleship]]s in 1937 to replace old pre-[[World War I]] ships that were by then obsolescent.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|p=97}} But by the late 1930s, the Washington system, which had been extended by the [[London Naval Treaty|First]] and [[Second London Naval Treaty|Second London Naval Treaties]], had begun to break down after Japan refused to sign the Second London Treaty in 1936. This prompted the other major naval powers to begin rearmament programs, beginning in the United States with the {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship|0||1939}} battleships in 1938.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|pp=281–282}} Funding for the first two new ships was provided in Fiscal Year 1937, though work would not commence until 1939.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|pp=88, 98}}

The [[Second Vinson Act]] of 1938 added two more ''South Dakota''s; it also authorized the construction of two more battleships yet to be designed.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|p=88}} The US Navy had already begun design work on the successors to the ''South Dakota''s in 1937, which was to become the {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|4}}; the Navy sought larger, faster ships that would handily exceed the {{convert|35000|LT|lk=on}} limit on battleship [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] imposed under the Washington Treaty system. Because Japan had already refused to abide by the terms of the Second London Naval Treaty, the other major naval powers moved to loosen the restrictions on their own new battleship designs. On 31 March 1938, the US, Britain, and France exchanged notes indicating that they would accept increasing the displacement limit to {{cvt|45000|LT}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|pp=307–309}}

As the US Navy's designers worked on proposals for the new ships, two distinct strains emerged: a comparatively slow, heavily armed and armored variant and a much faster, but lighter-armed and armored vessel that was primarily intended to catch Japanese cruisers and counter the fast {{sclass|Kongō|battleship|1}}s. The latter type, which eventually emerged essentially as an improved ''South Dakota'', was capable of a speed of {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}}, but work on the former proceeded at the same time. The [[General Board]] intended it to become the next generation of [[standard-type battleship]]s, which was to be set at 45,000-ton ships armed with twelve {{cvt|16|in|0}} guns, and capable of {{convert|27|kn}}, the same speed as the ''South Dakota''s.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|pp=307–311}}

By 1939, it had become apparent to the naval leadership that war was approaching, and so the need for new ships had become pressing. The start of [[World War II]] in Europe, and particularly the [[Fall of France]] in June 1940 only increased the pressure to speed construction of new warships. The first two ships ordered to the 33-knot improved ''South Dakota'' design—{{USS|Iowa|BB-61|6}} and {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|2}}—were ordered under the 1939 fiscal year. The passage of the [[Two-Ocean Navy Act]] on 19 July 1940 provided significant increases to the Navy's strength, including an increase of some {{cvt|385000|LT}} for battleships alone, along with hundreds of thousands of tons for new [[aircraft carrier]]s, [[cruiser]]s, and [[destroyer]]s. Under the 1941 fiscal year program, the third and fourth ''Iowa''-class battleships were authorized, but in May, two more ships were added to the program. These were to have been built to the next battleship design, but the [[Secretary of the Navy]], [[Frank Knox]], decided that these should be additional ''Iowa''-class ships to speed up production.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|pp=88–89, 99–100}}