The 1940 game exercise allows an American fast battleship of up to 80,000 tons at full load, with at least 28 knots and guns of 16 inches or larger. The ship is treated as an alternative to Montana, with an 8,000-nautical-mile requirement for reaching the Philippines from the US west coast and permission to use the intended expanded Panama Canal locks. Drachinifel fits twenty 16-inch/50 guns, a 16-inch belt, a 6-inch deck, and 28-knot machinery into just over 79,000 tons, with a stated range of 26,000 kilometers. Clarke chooses twelve 18-inch/50 guns, a 17-inch belt, and 29 knots. Secondary armament also remains open to historical alternatives: experimental twin dual-purpose 6-inch weapons are mentioned as an option considered in some Montana designs. Even this displacement allowance leaves decisions about protection, machinery, and the space available for secondary weapons.
Chapter · 54:44-1:14:32
An 80,000-ton American Pacific battleship
Two 1940 game designs use an 80,000-ton allowance for either twenty 16-inch guns or twelve 18-inch guns, with Pacific range and enlarged canal locks shaping the hull.