Editing Iowa-class battleship (section)

== Conversion proposals ==
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Iowa class aircraft carrier.jpg
| alt1   = A black and white blueprint of a ship with a flat deck designed to launch and recover airplanes. Medium sized guns line the bridge area, while notes and a ruler outline points of interest and the estimated length of the designed ship.
| caption1= Line drawings of the proposed aircraft carrier conversion for hulls BB-65 and BB-66. Plans to move forward with this conversion were ultimately dropped, and both hulls were eventually scrapped.
| image2 =
| alt2   = A watercolor painting depicting a large gray ship sailing away from the viewer. The latter half of the battleship is equipped with missile launchers.
| caption2= Concept artwork of what ''Kentucky'' may have looked like had she been completed as a guided missile battleship.
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The ''Iowa'' class were the only battleships with the speed required for post-war operations based around fast aircraft carrier task forces.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=390}} There were several proposals in the early Cold War to convert the class to take into account changes in technology and doctrine. These included plans to equip the class with nuclear missiles, add aircraft capability, and – in the case of ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'' – a proposal to rebuild both as aircraft carriers instead of battleships.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=190}}{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=288}}

Initially, the ''Iowa'' class was to consist of only four battleships with hull numbers BB-61 to BB-64: ''Iowa'', ''New Jersey'', ''Missouri'', and ''Wisconsin''. However, changing priorities during World War II resulted in the battleship hull numbers BB-65 {{USS|Montana|BB-67|2}} and BB-66 {{USS|Ohio|BB-68|2}} being reordered as ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'', respectively; ''Montana'' and ''Ohio'' were reassigned to hull numbers BB-67 and BB-68. At the time these two battleships were to be built a proposal was put forth to have them constructed as aircraft carriers rather than fast battleships. The plan called for the ships to be rebuilt to include a flight deck and an armament suite similar to that placed aboard the {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier}}s that were at the time under construction in the United States.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=190}}{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=288}} Ultimately, nothing came of the design proposal to rebuild these two ships as aircraft carriers and they were cleared for construction as fast battleships to conform to the ''Iowa''-class design, though they differed from the earlier four that were built. Eventually, the {{sclass|Cleveland|cruiser|0}} [[light cruiser]]s were selected for the aircraft-carrier conversion. Nine of these light cruisers would be rebuilt as {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|0}} light aircraft carriers.{{sfn|Friedman|1986|p=191}}

After the surrender of the [[Empire of Japan]], construction on ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'' stopped. ''Illinois'' was eventually scrapped, but ''Kentucky''{{'}}s construction had advanced enough that several plans were proposed to complete ''Kentucky'' as a guided missile battleship (BBG) by removing the aft turret and installing a missile system.<ref name="NVR Kentucky">{{cite web |title= Kentucky (BB 66) |date= 23 July 2002 |url= {{Naval Vessel Register URL |BB-66}} |website= [[Naval Vessel Register]] |publisher= [[NAVSEA]] Shipbuilding Support Office |access-date= 20 November 2020 }}</ref>{{sfn|Rogers|n.d.}} A similar conversion had already been performed on the battleship {{USS|Mississippi|BB-41|2}} (BB-41/AG-128) to test the [[RIM-2 Terrier|RIM-2 Terrier missile]] after World War II.{{sfn|Boslaugh|2003|p=59}} One such proposal came from [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] W.K. Mendenhall, Chairman of the [[Ship Characteristics Board|Ship Characteristics Board (SCB)]]; Mendenhall proposed a plan that called for $15–30&nbsp;million to be spent to allow ''Kentucky'' to be completed as a guided-missile battleship (BBG) carrying eight [[SSM-N-8 Regulus|SSM-N-8 Regulus II]] guided missiles with a range of {{convert|1000|nmi}}. He also suggested Terrier or [[RIM-8 Talos]] launchers to supplement the AA guns and proposed nuclear (instead of conventional) shells for the 16-inch guns.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=204}} This never materialized,{{sfn|Polmar|2001|p=128}} and ''Kentucky'' was ultimately sold for scrap in 1958, although her bow was used to repair her sister ''Wisconsin'' after a collision on 6 May 1956, earning her the nickname ''WisKy''.<ref name="NVR Kentucky" />

In 1954, the Long Range Objectives Group of the United States Navy suggested converting the ''Iowa''-class ships to BBGs. In 1958, the Bureau of Ships offered a proposal based on this idea. This replaced the 5- and 16-inch gun batteries with "two Talos twin missile systems, two [[RIM-24 Tartar]] twin missile systems, an [[RUR-5 ASROC]] antisubmarine missile launcher, and a Regulus II installation with four missiles",{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=209}} as well as [[flagship]] facilities, sonar, helicopters, and fire-control systems for the Talos and Tartar missiles. In addition to these upgrades, {{cvt|8600|LT}} of additional fuel oil was also suggested to serve in part as ballast for the battleships and for use in refueling destroyers and cruisers. Due to the estimated cost of the overhaul ($178–193&nbsp;million) this proposal was rejected as too expensive; instead, the SCB suggested a design with one Talos, one Tartar, one ASROC, and two Regulus launchers and changes to the superstructure, at a cost of up to $85&nbsp;million. This design was later revised to accommodate the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile, which in turn resulted in a study of two schemes by the SCB. In the end, none of these proposed conversions for the battleships were ever authorized.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=210}} Interest in converting the ''Iowa''s into guided-missile battleships began to deteriorate in 1960 because the hulls were considered too old and the conversion costs too high.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=212}} Nonetheless, additional conversion proposals – including one to install the [[AN/SPY-1]] [[Aegis Combat System]] radar{{sfn|Polmar|2001|p=128}} on the battleships – were suggested in 1962, 1974, and 1977, but as before, these proposals failed to gain the needed authorization.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=213}} This was due, in part, to the possibility that sensitive electronics within {{cvt|200|ft}} of any 16-inch gun muzzle may be damaged from overpressure.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=212}}