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USS Montana should have stayed with 3x3 16" guns and moved towards four pairs of rapid-fire 8" autoloaders on each quadrant of the main citadel. That would have meant cutting down the triples designed for the Des Moines (see USS Salem) class. These 8" guns had an alternative system that was a revolutionary development for fire control for its day and could be used for shore bombardment, ASuW, or AAW. Losing four 5" twins and three 16" was fine considering the high throw-rate of those 8's. You pick up about 100 tons but keep your high speed outer shape lost in the original Montana projections.

[QUOTE="MadRat, post: 530775, member: 4090"] USS Montana should have stayed with 3x3 16" guns and moved towards four pairs of rapid-fire 8" autoloaders on each quadrant of the main citadel. That would have meant cutting down the triples designed for the Des Moines (see USS Salem) class. These 8" guns had an alternative system that was a revolutionary development for fire control for its day and could be used for shore bombardment, ASuW, or AAW. Losing four 5" twins and three 16" was fine considering the high throw-rate of those 8's. You pick up about 100 tons but keep your high speed outer shape lost in the original Montana projections. [/QUOTE]

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