The Montana-Class: The King of the Seven-Seas that was never to be
This class of vessels was proposed to usurp the Iowa Class and the Yamato as the most formidable foe to face on the world's waves.
In the early years of the war in Europe, and in the Pacific, Germany and Japan ruled the waves. The Kriegsmarine had their countless wolfpacks of U-Boats occupying nearly all of the world's waterways, alongside the brute strength of their steel behemoths of the Bismarck and Scharnhorst-class of battleships. In the land of the rising sun, Imperial Japan's fleet continued to grow in size and strength as the war progressed. The gem in the crown of Japan's naval might was the recently built Yamato-class of battleships, the heaviest and most formidable naval vessels ever constructed by mankind. Their 18-inch main armaments could rip apart anything and everything that the allied navies could throw at them, with their thick armor and anti-air defenses making them practically invincible when in their element. Over three years before the Japanese Navy would launch their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States began addressing these new threats. On May 17th, 1938, US Congress passed the Second Vinson Act, allowing for the construction of all-new American battleships. The South Dakota class was set to be built, along with the first two of the mighty Iowa class in case the growing tensions between certain nations boiled over in the near future. Following the passing of the Two-Ocean Navy Act in mid-1940, a new class was set to be created as well. This new family of vessels would come to be known as the Montana-class.
A Force to be Reckoned with
A fairly realistic depiction of the never-built USS Montana going through the (fictionally) widened Panama Canal. Render from Reddit.
Preliminary designs and ideas for the Montanas were being drawn up as early as 1939, with the class being invented to go toe-to-toe with every other naval vessel in the world, including the Yamato. The class was to be comprised of five ships, all named after US states, as was true for all of the United States' previous battleships. The first ship set to be produced was the titular USS Montana (BB-67), the flagship of the new class. Following its planned construction would be the USS Ohio (BB-68), USS Maine (BB-69), USS New Hampshire (BB-70), and the USS Louisiana (BB-71), all of the vessels planned to be in service by mid-late 1945. The final specifications of the Montana-class surpassed nearly every other battleship in the world, almost equalling the Yamato in many key aspects. The Montanas would have been absolutely massive, with a fully-loaded displacement of over 70,000 tons, a length of over 900 feet, and a width of 121 feet. By pure scale alone, she rivaled the Japanese's super battleships. They could also traverse the oceans with incredible range, as the ships could travel over 15,000 nautical miles without having to refuel, albeit rather slowly. The Montana's predecessor, the Iowa-class, were known for their massive firepower and surprising speed. Well, let's just say that the Montana-class got one of these aspects, but certainly not the other. Even with 8 boilers and 4 sets of steam turbines producing 172,000 HP (eat your heart out Bugatti), their max speed was calculated to only be around 15 knots or 17 MPH.
An artist's depiction of the USS Montana. Drawing from the Naval History and Heritage Command.
The sluggish speed of this new class is rather understandable in reality, as the Montanas easily made up for their lack of pace with immense firepower and nearly impenetrable defenses. Her main battery of twelve 16 inch Mk. 7 guns had the approximate destructive armor-piercing force as the previously mentioned 18-inch cannons found on the Yamato. Alongside these massive dealers of death were twenty 5-inch Mk. 16 guns, with ten on each side of the vessel. The Mk. 16s were specifically designed for the new class of battleships, however, they would never see use on that particular platform. Interestingly enough, the cannons would see mass production from 1945-1959 and would be in use on active duty warships around the globe until the early 1990s. Back to the Montanas, their offensive armaments were not the only impressive aspect of the ship, as their defense was just as strong as their offense. Mounted on the deck and around the ship were nearly 100 anti-aircraft guns, consisting of 20 millimeter Oerlikon guns and the famous 40 millimeter Bofors cannons. On paper, this would make the sturdy Montanas almost immune to air attacks, although the Bismarck and the Yamato thought the same thing as well. The ship was not just dependent on her armament to keep her safe, as her armor could stand up to almost every other naval gun in existence, at the time.
The Iowa class USS New Jersey (BB-62) fires opposite salvos from her three massive main batteries. Photo from the National Interest.
Her armor specifications were some of the most impressive in the history of naval design, with her main and lower rings of armor being over 16 and 7 inches thick, respectively. The thickest armor onboard would be found on the ship's main batteries, with the faces of the turrets being nearly 23 inches thick. Compared to its theoretical adversary, the Yamato, they were fairly similar in their defensive designs. The Yamato had slightly more armor in some areas and could somehow carry more speed, nearly double that of the new Montana-class was capable of at max clip. If these two would have gone toe to toe in the Pacific, it would have been a toss-up to see who would have come out on top, if any of them. The Montanas would have crewed over 2,300 sailors on any given mission and could have withstood nearly anything hurled their way. So, what finally sunk this ambitious naval project?
Battleships out, Aircraft Carriers in
The wounded IJN Yamato tries to defensively maneuver as it comes under aerial attack during Operation Ten-Go on April 7th, 1945. Yamato would sink to the depths of the Pacific Ocean, taking over 3,000 of its complement with it. Photo from the US Navy.
What ultimately befell this incredible vision was the shift in importance on the waves. During World War I, the Dreadnoughts and the U-Boat were the ultimate naval killing machines, striking fear into all who opposed them. At the start of the Second World War, this remained relatively unchanged, as the might of each navy heavily hinged on their esteemed battleships and submarines. This would change as the war progressed, as aircraft carriers became vital to any campaign by sea or land. By the end of the war, the majority of the Montana's theoretical opponents were sent to Davey Jones's locker by allied naval airpower, including the mighty Yamato in 1945. In May of 1942, around a month before the pivotal Battle of Midway, the Montana project was put on hold to further focus on the building of the new Essex class aircraft carriers, as well as the completion of the already under construction Iowa class of battleships. By July of the following year, the writing was on the wall for the former king of the waves, the battleship. The Montana class was canceled before any of the keels had even been laid, leaving nothing but concepts and scale models in its wake. The question is, should it have been built? If so, would it have even made a dent in the Pacific theatre by the time all five would be completed?
Closing Thoughts
A modern drawing depicting the final signed-off concept of the USS Montana. Drawing from Tzoli on DeviantArt.
Was the concept of the Montana class impressive? Absolutely! Would the massive battleships have any true impact by the time they entered service? Doubtful. In hindsight, I selfishly wish they had constructed these so that we could have them as museum ships today, but I digress. By the time of their scheduled completion, the war in not only the Pacific but as a whole would have been nearly over. Even if they did enter service earlier than anticipated, they would have quickly become high-value targets for the Imperial Japanese Navy, in a similar fashion to the Bismarck and Yamato for the British and US respectively. In reality, by the time they were to enter combat roles, it would have been money flushed down the drain. Although, their usefulness could have extended to Korea or Vietnam in the decades following the close of the Second World War, or they could have been reactivated much like their Iowa class counterparts in the 1980s. Logistical issues also plagued the project from day one, primarily the Panama Canal. The USS Iowa and her sister ships could barely squeeze their 108-foot beams through the narrow waterway in the first place. With the Montana class adding another 13 feet to that, taking the Central American shortcut would not be an option. There were plans of widening the locks to accommodate for these new massive vessels, however, the project was scrapped before any physical work was done. On one hand, I'm happy that these were never built, as it would have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars that the US crucially needed following the end of the war. The selfish side of me, on the other hand, would have loved to see these things in person, and maybe had that fantasy matchup between the Montana and the Yamato. Alas, none of this came to fruition. In the end, the Montana class was the king of the seas, that was never to be.
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With DT coming to a tragic end, I'll be trying to pump out as many articles as possible before its gone forever. One last hurrah for our amazing community!