Editing Montana-class battleship (section)

==Construction and cancellation==
[[File:USS Montana line drawing.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|Line drawing of a ''Montana''-class battleship]]

The General Board planned to build four ships to the new design, which would have constituted a single battleship [[division (naval)|division]], but five were authorized by the Two-Ocean Navy Act on 19 July 1940. Work was intended to begin later that year, but shortages of the necessary steel caused delays. Work on the new locks for the Panama Canal was also halted in 1941, also owing to a shortage of steel due to the changing strategic and material priorities.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|p=100}}{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=342}} The final contract design was issued in June 1942. Construction was authorized by the United States Congress and the projected date of completion was estimated to be somewhere between 1 July and 1 November 1945.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=164}}

In October 1942, work on the ships was again delayed by the order of some eighty destroyers, which were badly needed for the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] against German [[U-boat]]s that were raiding the supply [[convoy]]s to Britain.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|p=89}} Additional work on the design continued into 1942, including detail work on the anti-aircraft batteries to be carried. The [[Bureau of Ships]] suggested the armor decks could be increased in thickness, but these changes were not pursued.{{sfn|Friedman|1985|p=342}} All five ships were ultimately cancelled on 21 July 1943, as production priorities had shifted decisively toward aircraft carriers, destroyers, and [[submarine]]s.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|pp=89, 100}} The time spent refining the ''Montana'' design was not entirely a waste, as the arrangement of the propulsion system was modified for the {{sclass|Midway|aircraft carrier|1}}s.{{sfn|Friedman|1980|p=100}}