readx; Iowa class displacement: standard displacement 44,560 tons, full load displacement before modification 55,710 tons, full load displacement after modification 57,256 tons. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Hull size: length 270.4 meters, beam 32.92 meters, draft 10 meters, waterline length 262.5 meters.

Power system: 8 Babcock &Wilcox heavy oil boilers, 4 Westinghouse steam boiler turbines, 4-shaft twin rudder transmission, 212,000 horsepower of the main engine, 8,765 tons of oil.

Cruising speed and endurance: The design speed is 31 knots, and the endurance is 20,150 nautical miles at 14 knots, 15,900 nautical miles at 17 knots, and 9,600 nautical miles at 25 knots.

Crew: design, total: 1,851 people, 91 officers, 1,760 soldiers, actual strength: 2,700 from World War II to Vietnam War, 1,800 during the Cold War and the Gulf War

Armor protection: main armor belt, hull 312 mm (camber 19 degrees), transverse 287 mm, upper deck 37 mm, armored deck 121-147 mm, side armor belt 307 mm (inclination angle 19 degrees), watertight compartment 287 mm.

Turret: frontal 495 mm, top 184 mm, side 229 mm, rear 241 mm, gun mounts 295 to 439 mm, conning tower frontal 445 mm, top 184 mm, weight total weight armor 18466 tons, total hull structure weight 10525 tons.

The number of weapons and equipment in each period

World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf War.

9 triple MK.7-406 mm/50 x caliber guns, 20-12 twin 127 mm/38 x diameter high-level dual-purpose guns, 60-80 quadruple Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, 50-60 Erlikon 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, 8 12.7 mm single-barreled machine guns, 32 BGM-109 Tomahawks, 16 RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 4 20 mm Phalanx close defense systems, 2 catapults, 3 seaplanes, 3 helicopters, 8 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

Then came the real highlight, the Montana-class-battleship (USS-Montana-BB-67), a battleship that the U.S. Navy planned to build during World War II, but never actually built. It was the last class of battleships designed by the U.S. Navy. This class is the successor to the Iowa-class battleships. Although the speed is reduced, the profile is larger, the armor is heavier, and the firepower is stronger. According to the model of the ship, the Washington-class catamaran super battleship built by the Americans with all their might finally boarded World War II, where the appearance of time and space basically changed.

The Washington-class catamaran super-battleship was originally a super-large battleship built by the U.S. Navy to counter the Japanese Amaterasu-class catamaran super-battleship. Due to the influence of various factors in the later stages of World War II, Montana was not built in the end, but this time and space Washington-class finally caught up with World War II. Interestingly, the United States has a habit of naming battleships after states, but Montana is the only state in American history that does not have a battleship of the same name, so the U.S. Navy jokingly calls Montana a "child without toys". (The South Dakota-class "Montana" was also not successfully built.) Washington, on the other hand, is named after Washington, the founding father of the United States of America.

The construction plan for the Washington class was approved by the U.S. Navy in the 1939 "Twin Oceans" plan, and the relevant budget was passed in 1940. The five warships of this class were numbered CBB-1 to CBB-5.

The five warships are planned to be built in three naval shipyards. They are:

USS Washington (CBB-1) is scheduled to be built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania;

The USS Lincoln (CBB-2) was planned to be built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard;

？？ CBB-3 is scheduled to be built at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York;

？？ CBB-4 is planned to be built at the New York Navy Yard;

？？ CBB-5 is scheduled to be built at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

If all the Washington-class catamaran super-battleships were built, the U.S. Navy in the late 1940s would have 17 battleships, five of which were super-battleships of more than 100,000 or 200,000 tons, which would be more powerful than the battleships of any country at that time.

However, the US Navy in World War II needed to build a large number of aircraft carriers, amphibious landing ships and anti-submarine ships. As a result, the Montana-class construction program was partially cancelled in May 1941, when a keel had just been laid on the bow of the super-battleship. Beginning in July 1943, the U.S. Navy shifted to aircraft carriers as the core, so that the dominance of battleships at sea could not be said to be replaced by aircraft carriers, so this "hegemon of battleships" immediately canceled the construction of four of them. As a result, the Washington-class lead ship became the last class of catamaran super-combat ships actually built by the U.S. Navy.

Since the Washington-class was designed for a standard displacement of 280,000 tons, it would replace the Iowa class in service at the time as the largest warship in the U.S. Navy and even the world, and only the Red Chinese Navy's Supreme Superior Supergiant Multihull aircraft carrier, which joined late World War II, could begin to surpass it. The Washington class was originally planned to be armed with four 3-pack 20-inch (510 mm) 50-caliber guns, three more than the Iowa class. Protection against torpedoes and artillery has also been greatly enhanced. The side armor of this battleship also largely surpassed that of other classes of battleships of the time. In order to achieve these goals, the Washington class was designed to have a maximum speed of 30 knots, compared to 33 knots for the Iowa, which was several times more tonnage than it. Due to the reduced speed, the Washington class seems to be doomed to the same fate as the South Dakota and North Carolina classes - being canceled or becoming a floating museum.

It is worth mentioning that due to the wide hull of the Washington-class ship, the United States decided to carry out the Panama Canal Improvement Program, build a new gate, make the canal more spacious and allow the Washington-class to pass, so that the US Navy can smoothly travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But the canal improvement plan also disappeared with the partial cancellation of the Washington-level construction plan.

Washington's designers initially wanted to limit its standard displacement to 160,000 tons. However, the U.S. Navy's decision to no longer limit the displacement of ships, and the restriction on the width of the hull not to exceed 66 meters (in order to pass through the Panama Canal) was also removed by the Japanese-built Amaterasu-class. By the summer of 1939, the US Navy decided to build five Montana-class battleships, which, after repeated modifications, actually did not finalize the technical performance until March 1940. At this time, the Washington-class has been designed as a supership with a standard displacement of 260,000 tons, a full load displacement of 283,860 tons, a length of 542.6 meters, and a width of 78 meters. And its natural counterpart Amaterasu-class has a design standard displacement of 256,000 tons, a full load displacement of 291232 tons, a length of 556 meters, and a width of 78 meters. The Washington-class, if built, would be the largest battleship in American history.

The Washington class and the Montana class are designed with the same emphasis on enhanced firepower. Due to considerations such as rate of fire, density of firepower, logistics, etc., the ship continues to be armed with MK7A naval guns (510 mm). In addition, the artillery manufacturing technology of the United States is relatively advanced, and the Washington-level penetration depth is much ahead of the Amaterasu-class, which is actually inferior to someone with black technology. The armor-piercing shell of the new American MKA-type naval gun weighs 2450 kg and can penetrate vertical steel armor 762 mm thick at a distance of 27432 meters, and the armor-piercing power is 18288 mm at 1024 meters. The Washington class has the advantage in firepower - the main gun fires armor-piercing shells per minute weighing about 58.8 tons, compared to 39.52 tons for the Amaterasu. Moreover, the "Washington" has four main turrets, while the Amaterasu class has only three, and the Montana class also has the upper hand in terms of firing flexibility. The secondary gun of the Washington class uses the newly developed 54 times caliber 127 mm twin high-level dual-purpose naval gun. The shell weight, muzzle velocity, firing range, and firing height of this gun are much higher than the 38 times caliber 127 mm twin guns of the Iowa class. However, due to the termination of the construction of the Washington-class class, the development of this twin naval gun was also discontinued, and the development of a 54-caliber 127-mm single-mounted naval gun was developed, and in the fall of 1945 it began to equip three Midway-class aircraft carriers.

In order to give the Washington-class catamaran super-battleship a high hit rate and strong night combat capabilities, a new radar fire control system is installed on it. Compared to the Amaterasu-class radar, the Washington-class radar is much better than the former in every way. Coupled with its strong firepower, it can exert a high combat effectiveness in wartime.

In addition to these equipment, the Washington class has a well-developed air defense capability. It installed twenty quadruple 40-mm anti-aircraft guns and one hundred and twelve single-mounted 20-mm anti-aircraft guns.

The protection of the Washington-class is also the strongest among American battleships. The broadside armor belt of the Washington class has a thickness of 818 mm at the waterline with a 19-degree inclination angle, which is more than 400 mm thicker than the South Dakota and Iowa classes. The Washington class's torpedo and artillery protection has also been greatly enhanced, reducing its speed to 30 knots and its endurance to 15,000 knots compared to the Iowa.

Since the Washington class was designed to have a full load displacement of 283,860 tons, it would replace the Iowa class in service at the time as the largest warship in the U.S. Navy, and only the Red Chinese Navy's Supreme Supergiant Multihull aircraft carrier, which joined late World War II, could replace it. Due to the need to build a large number of aircraft carriers, amphibious landing ships and anti-submarine ships in the U.S. Navy in World War II, from July 1943, the U.S. Navy shifted to aircraft carriers as the core, so that the status of battleships was replaced by aircraft carriers, so the Washington-class battleships also canceled the construction of the other four ships. As a result, the only Washington-class became the last class of battleships actually built by the US Navy.

It is worth mentioning that the Washington Class is too wide to pass through the Panama Canal as easily as the Iowa Class. But by the time the Washington-level design plan was passed, the U.S. government already had plans to begin building a wider sluice gate on the canal. The new gate is wider than the old one and allows the Washington-class to pass through, allowing the Washington-class to travel smoothly between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But the canal improvement program was also canceled with the cancellation of the construction of the other four ships of the Washington-class construction program. Washington's other 4 ships have not been built, if all are built, it will be one of the most powerful super battleships in the United States and even the world, the Amaterasu-class barely competes with it, even if the super-Amaterasu-class is built, but the lack of firepower density caused by the small number of guns is still difficult to effectively compete with the Washington class, so the Washington class deserves to be the ideal battleship plan of the United States, but it is not the same as the catamaran super battleship of the Red Chinese Navy can only be beaten.

Washington's level of protection is the strongest in the history of the United States and the world. The previous South Dakota and Iowa classes were able to withstand 1.016-ton armor-piercing shells fired from 45 times caliber 406 mm guns. Thus, the thickness of the broadside armor belt in shallow water is 818 mm, which is more than 400 mm thicker than the Iowa class, and the angle of inclination is 3 °. The thickness of the broadside armor belt under the waterline was 366 mm at the upper end and 50 mm at the lower end. The total thickness of the deck is 526 mm, while the Amaterasu class is 400 mm. To further improve the protection of the power compartment, the eight boilers and turbines of the Washington class all have separate partitions, which greatly improve the resistance to water immersion. At the same time, in order to reduce the weight of the power unit, the main engine power of the Montana class is 688,000 horsepower, which is 40,000 horsepower less than that of Iowa, and the speed is also reduced to 28 knots.