Q&A · 1:15:19-1:17:20

Could a fast battleship with nine 16-inch guns appear by 1920?

A ship with nine 16-inch guns and 30-to-33-knot speed is accepted as a possible outcome, while an exact reproduction of the historical Iowa class remains a different proposition.

Question

Could the United States field an Iowa-like 30-to-33-knot battleship with nine 16-inch guns by 1920?

Short answer

Potentially, if Iowa-like means nine 16-inch guns and 30-to-33-knot speed rather than the exact historical Iowa design.

Notes

The proposed American ship is an Iowa-like combination of speed and armament, rather than an exact copy of the later Iowa class. Francesco Caracciolo-class ships could bring 15-inch guns and about 28 knots into service from 1916 in this scenario. Britain would respond to that qualitative challenge, changing the foreign ships against which American designs were measured. The follow-up clarification specifies nine 16-inch guns and 30-to-33-knot speed, and that combination is accepted as a possibility. Funding and the cost of powerful machinery could still delay the redesign.