The Alaska class needed an earlier service date

What should have been changed about the Alaska class?

Its service date: entering in 1941 would have made the ships valuable fast carrier escorts during the early Pacific War.

The most useful change would be ordering the ships early enough to enter service in 1941. Their speed and heavy armament could have supported more carrier operations when the US Navy lacked fast escorts. Earlier Alaskas might have changed the case for building the Iowa class. Timing, rather than a major redesign, determines whether the large cruisers fill a genuine wartime need.