Editing Iowa-class battleship (section)

=== ''Illinois'' and ''Kentucky'' ===
{{main|USS Illinois (BB-65)|USS Kentucky (BB-66)}}
[[File:USS Illinois BB-65.jpg|thumb|alt=USS ''Illinois''|{{ship|USS|Illinois|BB-65|2}} under construction on the slipway at Philadelphia, just prior to her cancellation]]

Hull numbers BB-65 and BB-66 were originally intended as the first and second ships of the ''Montana''-class of battleships;{{sfn|Hore|2005|p=222}} however, the passage of an emergency war building program on 19 July 1940 resulted in both hulls being reordered as ''Iowa''-class units to save time on construction.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardiner|1y=1980|1p=99|2a1=Johnston|2a2=McAuley|2y=2002|2pp=108–23}} The war ended before either could be completed, and work was eventually stopped. Initially, [[#Conversion proposals|proposals were made]] to convert the hulls into aircraft carriers similar to the ''Essex'' class, but the effort was dropped.{{sfnm|1a1=Friedman|1y=1986|1p=190|2a1=Garzke|2a2=Dulin|2y=1995|2p=288}}

{{ship|USS|Illinois|BB-65|2}} was ordered on 9 September 1940 and initially laid down on 6 December 1942. However, work was suspended pending a decision on whether to convert the hull to an aircraft carrier. Upon determination the result would cost more and be less capable than building from scratch, construction resumed, but it was canceled for good approximately one-quarter complete on 11 August 1945.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1995|p=137}} She was sold for scrap and broken up on the slipway in September 1958.{{sfnm|1a1=Dulin|1a2=Garzke|1y=1976|1p=137|2a1=Whitley|2y=|2p=311}}<ref name="NVR Illinois">{{cite web |title= Illinois (BB 65) |date= 22 July 2002 |url= {{Naval Vessel Register URL |BB-65}} |website= Naval Vessel Register |publisher= NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office |access-date= 20 November 2020 }}</ref>

[[File:USSKentuckyBB-66.jpg|thumb|alt=USS ''Kentucky''|The hull of {{ship|USS|Kentucky|BB-66|2}} is floated out of drydock to allow it to be used for repairs to {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|2}}]]
{{ship|USS|Kentucky|BB-66|2}} was ordered on 9 September 1940 and laid down on 7 March 1942. Work on the ship was suspended in June 1942, and the hull floated out to make room for the construction of [[Landing Ship, Tank|LSTs]].<ref>{{cite web |last= Yarnall |first= Paul R. |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/66.htm |title= BB-66 Kentucky |date= n.d. |website= NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive |access-date= 20 November 2020}}</ref> The interruption lasted for two and a half years while a parallel aircraft carrier debate played out as with ''Illinois'', reaching the same conclusion. Work resumed in December 1944, with completion projected for mid-1946. Further suggestions were made to convert ''Kentucky'' into a specialist anti-aircraft ship, and work was again suspended. With the hull approximately three-quarters completed, she was floated on 20 January 1950, to clear a dry dock for repairs to ''Missouri'', which had run aground. During this period, plans were proposed to convert ''Kentucky'' into a guided missile battleship, which saw her reclassified from BB-66 to BBG-1.{{sfnm|Hore|2005|1p=222|Gardiner|1980|2p=99}} When these failed construction of any sort, work never resumed and the ship was used as a parts [[Hulk (ship type)|hulk]]; in 1956, her bow was removed and shipped in one piece across [[Hampton Roads]] and grafted onto ''Wisconsin'', which had collided with the destroyer ''Eaton''.{{sfn|Hore|2005|p=221}} In 1958, the engines installed on ''Kentucky'' were salvaged and installed on the [[Sacramento-class fast combat support ship|''Sacramento''-class fast combat support ships]] {{USS|Sacramento|AOE-1|2}} and {{USS|Camden|AOE-2|2}}.{{sfn|Hore|2005|p=222}} Ultimately, what remained of the hulk was sold for scrap on 31 October 1958.{{sfn|Muir|1989|p=149}}

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