The Montana-class battleships are one of those intriguing “what if” tales in naval history—impressive, ambitious, and ultimately a testament to the rapid pace at which warfare evolves. Conceived during an era when battleships reigned supreme, these battleships were intended to be the largest and most mighty battleships the U.S. Navy had ever hoped to construct. But for all the planning and grandeur, not a single Montana ever sailed. Their tale provides a fascinating insight into how the character of naval warfare changed and how difficult choices influence military advancement.
Before World War II, battleships were the be-all and end-all of naval power. Each major fleet competed to construct larger guns and heavier armor to surpass one another. The Montana-class was America’s response to that challenge—a further development of the fast and powerful Iowa-class battleships. Other countries were also at the time developing “super-battleships” too, though none of them ever did get to sea either. Authorized as part of the 1940 Two-Ocean Navy Act, the Montanas were designed as a class of five, meant to take battleships to the limits of what they could do.
In terms of sheer size, the Montana-class was a true giant. Each ship would have weighed over 70,000 tons fully loaded, making them even bigger than the Iowas and close to Japan’s massive Yamato-class in scale. At 921 feet long and with a beam of 121 feet, they would have been so large that the Panama Canal locks had to be expanded just to let them pass through.
Their firepower, too, was impressive, with twelve 16-inch guns distributed among four triple turrets, leaving them with three more main guns than the Iowas and 25 percent more firepower. The secondary battery packed twenty 5-inch dual-purpose guns, more powerful than those on earlier battleships. For anti-air defense, the Montanas would have bristled with dozens of smaller guns to fend off planes, numbers expected to grow as aerial threats advanced.
Protection was emphasized as well. The central armor belt weighed a whopping 16.1 inches and sloped for added resilience, with turret faces protected up to 18 inches. Important compartments such as ammo magazines and engine spaces had added layers of protection, along with sophisticated hull designs to protect against torpedoes and mines. Indeed, these vessels were the first new American battleships to be built to absorb direct fire from their massive guns.
With all this muscle and armor, however, the Montanas sacrificed some speed over the Iowas. They were powered by eight boilers that pushed 172,000 horsepower and moved at 28 knots—still quick, but not quick enough to outrun faster enemies. This was an indication of a change in mindset: these ships were designed to slug it out in great battles, not dart around the sea.
But with the outbreak of World War II, the Montana-class ended up on the wrong side of history. The aircraft carrier quickly stole the limelight, demonstrating that planes could sink battleships miles away. The catastrophic Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 pounded home how vulnerable even the strongest battleships were to aerial attacks.
By 1943, although the Montanas were approved and funded, the Navy made the difficult decision to scrap all of them and reallocate money and material to the construction of more aircraft carriers and other Iowa-class battleships. It was a wise, progressive decision—had they been constructed, the Montanas would probably have been outdated even before they ever got into battle, outgunned by the ascendancy of air power.
Myths have developed around these massive vessels over the years. They have been described as simply larger Iowas with one additional turret or constructed primarily to match the Yamato. The reality is that the Montana-class was an entirely new design, with improved secondary armament and heavier armor. U.S. intelligence at the time didn’t know exactly how large the Yamato was.
Another myth is that the Montanas disregarded the size limits of the Panama Canal; although they did violate the size of the current locks, expansion plans were underway for the canal, and the actual problem was clearance under the Brooklyn Bridge close to the New York Navy Yard.
The Montana-class battleships are the pinnacle and the twilight of the era of battleships. Their cancellation wasn’t an engineering or vision failure, but simply a realization that naval warfare had evolved. In diverting resources toward aircraft carriers, the U.S. Navy positioned itself for dominance in the Pacific and beyond. The Montanas are an intriguing “what might have been,” a reminder that regardless of how potent an arm is, tech and strategy can soon rewrite its position in the annals of history.