Topic: The ships that didn't make it.
This is the thread where I will be posting all those ship classes I can dredge up that were either just on paper, canceled, converted, or unfinished for one reason or another, starting with the good-ol' US of A.
Montana-class
The Montana-class warships were built as a reaction to the rumors surrounding the Japanese Yamato-class that was being constructed by the Japanese. In order to meet the challenge, the Montana gained an exemption from the beam limitation that mandated all US Navy warships to be narrow enough to fit through the Panama Canal. The ship would be limited to the 28 knot speed of the older South Dakota-class battleships, and was the first US battleship of the war to have adequate protection against its own armament, sporting an armor belt of 16.1 inches. War priorities, however, put the planned construction of the Montana on hold- The shipyards that could conceivably build the Montana and the ships of her class were given over to the higher-priority projects of building the Iowa-class battleships and the Essex-class carriers. The Montana-class would ultimately be canceled in 1943, after the supremacy of the carrier-based fleet had been firmly established in the Pacific Theater.
Montana-class Battleship. (688)
Target Size Modifier +2
Hits/speed:
Undamaged: 14 (6-5-6) [OOOOOOOOOOOOOO]
Damaged: 15 (4-4-4) [OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]
Crippled: 14 (2-3-2) [OOOOOOOOOOOOOO]
Armor (Belt-Ends-Deck)
16-11-13
Main guns: 16"/50 USA (1943) Range 7/14/21 Pen 14/11/8 ROF +0 Damage 4
ABCD [OOO][OOO] CDEF [OOO][OOO]
Hit on a 1.
Secondary Guns: 5"/54 USA (1940) Range 4/9/13 Pen 3/1/0 ROF +3 Damage 1
AC [OO][OO] BD[OO][OO] ACE[OO] BDF[OO] CE[OO][OO] DF[OO][OO]
Hit on a 2.
AA Rating 125/87/50*
*(I have elected not to count the Bofors 40mm gun for light gun purposes, as it wasn't used in that capacity in naval service, as far as I'm aware. Do correct me if I'm wrong, though!).
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Lexington-class battlecruiser
The Lexington-class was the only battlecruiser class ever commissioned by the United States, but none of the hulls built for this project would ever see use as battlecruisers. The Lexington-class was envisioned during the run-up to the First World War as a class of superheavy scouts with a high cruising speed of 35 knots, an armament of ten 14" guns in dual- and triple- mounts, and a secondary armament consisting of eighteen 5" guns. While the project was put on the backburner due to the higher priorities attached to destroyers and the like for anti-submarine duties in the wake of Germany's U-boat campaign, the design underwent some revisions. The main armament was upped to the use of the 16"/50 caliber gun to match the larger guns being used on Japanese battlecruisers like the Kongo, and the secondary armament was switched to fourteen 6" guns. The number of torpedoes carried on board was doubled as well, though all of the improvements and changes came at the cost of ten thousand extra tons in displacement. While the construction of the vessels did commence, the project was canceled, and the hulls that were already mostly completed were converted into carriers- the Lexington herself fighting and being sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
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Lexington-class Battlecruiser (Original Design) (299)
Target Size Modifier +2
Hits/speed:
Undamaged: 10 (7-7-7) [OOOOOOOOOO]
Damaged: 10 (5-5-5) [OOOOOOOOOO]
Crippled: 10 (3-2-3) [OOOOOOOOOO]
Armor (Belt-Ends-Deck)
10-8-8
Main guns: 14"/50 USA (1918) Range: 4/8/12 Pen: 12/7/4 ROF: +0 Damage: 3
ABCD [OO][OOO] CDEF[OOO][OO]
Hit on: 1
Secondary guns: 5"/51 USA (1911) Range: 3/6/9 Pen: 3/1/0 ROF: +2 Damage: 1
AC: [O][O][O][O][O] BD [O][O][O][O][O] CE [O][O][O][O] DF [O][O][O][O]
Hit on: 2-3
Torpedoes: 21", Range 5 Damage 5.
Port [O][O]
Stbd [O][O]
Light gun rating: 3/2/1.
Lexington-class Battlecruiser (Redesign) (417)
Target Size Modifier +2
Hits/speed:
Undamaged: 11 (7-6-7) [OOOOOOOOOOO]
Damaged: 11 (5-4-5) [OOOOOOOOOOO]
Crippled: 12 (3-2-3) [OOOOOOOOOOOO]
Armor (Belt-Ends-Deck)
10-8-8
Main guns: 16"/45 USA (1923) Range: 7/15/22 Pen: 14/9/6 ROF: +0 Damage: 4
ABCD [OO][OO] CDEF[OO][OO]
Hit on: 1
Secondary guns: 6"/53 USA (1923) Range: 4/8/12 Pen: 4/2/1 ROF: +2 Damage: 1
AC: [O][O][O][O] BD [O][O][O][O] CE [O][O][O] DF [O][O][O]
Hit on: 2-3
Torpedoes: 21", Range 5 Damage 5.
Port [O][O][O][O]
Stbd [O][O][O][O]
Light gun rating: 3/2/1.