Editing Battleship (section)

=== Fast battleships and the end of the treaty system ===
[[File:Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto.jpg|thumb|The Italian fast battleship {{ship|Italian battleship|Vittorio Veneto||2}}]]

Because the Washington Treaty system precluded the construction of any new battleships until the early 1930s, the major naval powers began a program of modernization for their most effective battleships. Britain conducted a series of refits to their ''Queen Elizabeth''-class battleships through the 1920s, adding [[anti-torpedo bulge]]s, additional anti-aircraft guns, and [[aircraft catapult]]s; further refits in the 1930s increased armor protection and further strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries. The {{sclass|Revenge|battleship|1}}s were less heavily modified during the period. The US {{sclass|Florida|battleship|5}}, {{sclass|Wyoming|battleship|4}}, and {{sclass|New York|battleship|4}}es received similar treatments in the 1920s, while the ''Nevada|'' and {{sclass|Pennsylvania|battleship|5}}es received new turbines, additional armor, and more anti-aircraft guns. The Japanese similarly updated their ''Fusō'', {{sclass|Ise|battleship|5}}, and {{sclass|Nagato|battleship|1}}s, and rebuilt three of the four {{sclass|Kongō|battlecruiser|1}}s into fast battleships, albeit with significantly inferior protection compared to the other ships. They all also received distinctive [[pagoda mast]]s. {{ship|Japanese battleship|Hiei||2}} was initially disarmed to serve as a [[training ship]] under the terms of the Washington Treaty, but was remilitarized in the late 1930s. In the 1930s, all four classes were lengthened and had their propulsion systems improved to increase their speeds.{{sfn|Gardiner|Chesneau|1980|pp=7–8, 91, 168, 171–173}}

The French and Italian navies were exempted from the 10-year building holiday, owing to the comparative obsolescence of their battleships; they were permitted to build {{cvt|70000|LT|lk=on}} worth of battleships. But the weak economies of both countries led both to defer new construction until Germany began building the {{sclass|Deutschland|cruiser|4}} of heavily armed cruiser at the end of the 1920s. This prompted the French to build the {{sclass|Dunkerque|battleship|4}} of small, fast battleships armed with {{cvt|330|mm|in|order=flip}} guns, which led to a short arms race in Europe in the mid-1930s. The Italians responded with the significantly larger and more powerful {{sclass|Littorio|battleship|4}}, armed with 15-inch guns. The French, in turn, began the {{sclass|Richelieu|battleship|1}}s to counter the ''Littorio''s.{{sfn|Jordan|Dumas|2009|pp=15–21, 29–31}} By this time, [[Nazi Germany]] had signed the [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]] in 1935, which removed the restrictions imposed by Versailles and pegged German naval strength to 35% of British tonnage. This permitted the construction of two {{sclass|Scharnhorst|battleship|1}}s, which were also a response to the ''Dunkerque''s. The advent of the ''Richelieu''s prompted the Germans to build the two {{sclass|Bismarck|battleship|1}}s late in the decade.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1985|pp=128, 204–205}} The Germans thereafter embarked on the ambitious [[Plan Z]] naval construction program, which included a total of eight battleships, of which the ''Bismarck''s would be the first two.{{sfn|Gardiner|Chesneau|1980|p=220}}

Against the backdrop of European rearmament in the mid-1930s, Britain began planning its first battleship class in a decade: the {{sclass|King George V|battleship|4||1939}}. These were armed with 14-inch guns intended to comply with the terms of the Second London Naval Conference, and they were laid down in 1937. The United States began their {{sclass|North Carolina|battleship|4}} at the same time, and though they were intended to be armed with 14-inch guns, Japan's refusal to agree to the Second London Treaty led the US to invoke a clause of the treaty that allowed an increase to 16-inch guns. In 1939, these were followed by the four {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship|1||1939}}s, and in 1940 by the first of four {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|1}}s.{{sfn|Gardiner|Chesneau|1980|pp=15, 97–99}} For its part, Japan had decided to embark on a program of four very large {{sclass|Yamato|battleship|1}}s, armed with {{convert|18|in|adj=on|0}} guns, as early as 1934,{{sfn|Evans|Peattie|1997|p=295}} though work did not begin on the first ship until late 1937.{{sfn|Gardiner|Chesneau|1980|p=178}}