Editing Colorado-class battleship (section)

===Armament===

====Main guns====
The ''Colorado'' class was armed with eight [[16"/45 caliber gun|{{convert|16|in|adj=on|0}}/45 caliber Mark 1 guns]], which fired a {{convert|2110|lb|kg|adj=on}} armor-piercing (AP) shell at a [[muzzle velocity]] of {{convert|2600|ft/s|m/s|0}} and a rate of about 1.5 rounds per minute to a range of {{convert|34300|yd|m}} at a maximum turret elevation of 30 degrees. Development of this weapon had begun in August 1913, using a bored-out and relined {{convert|13|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mark 2 gun, with the promise of twice the muzzle energy of the [[12"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun|{{convert|12|in|adj=on|0}}/50 caliber Mark 7 guns]] and 50 percent more than the [[14"/45 caliber gun|14-inch /45 caliber]] weapon used on the ''New York''-class battleships. After an initial proof firing in July 1914 and minor changes, the 16-inch Mark 1 was re-proved in May 1916 and production approved in January 1917. When the ''Colorado''s were modernized in the 1930s, these guns were rebuilt per standard navy practice and redesignated 16-inch/45 (40.6&nbsp;cm) Mark 5 and Mark 8.{{sfn|DiGiulian 2008 (Mark 1)}}

====Secondary guns====
Fourteen [[5"/51 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|adj=on|0}}/51 caliber]] Mark 15 guns were installed to defend against enemy destroyers. This was reduced to 12 in 1922. The Mark 15 fired a {{convert|50|lb|kg|adj=on}} shell at a velocity of {{convert|3150|ft/s|m/s}} to a maximum range of {{convert|15850|yd|smi km|1|abbr=off|disp=(or)}} at 20&nbsp;degrees{{sfn|DiGiulian 2012 (5"/51)}} at a rate of seven rounds per minute and was extremely accurate, with a danger space longer than the range to the target for distances less than {{convert|3000|yd|m}}. As in the ''New Mexico'' and ''Tennessee'' classes, these were mounted in unarmored casemates on the main deck, one deck higher than in previous classes, to allow them to be manned in heavy weather if necessary.{{sfn|Breyer|1973|p=226}}{{sfn|DiGiulian 2012 (5"/51)}}

Heavily damaged at Pearl Harbor, in 1942 ''West Virginia'' began a major reconstruction that saw her Mark 15 guns removed and replaced with sixteen [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|adj=on|0}}/38 caliber]] Mark 12 dual-purpose guns in twin turrets. Urgently needed in the Pacific, ''Maryland'' and ''Colorado'' retained 8 of the prewar Mark 15s, in Colorado's case until the end of the war;{{sfn|Sturton|2008|p=217}} the twin turrets planned and later installed were at that time in short supply, and it was only in May 1945 that ''Maryland'' would be refitted with 16 5in/38 in 8 twin mountings as in ''West Virginia''. The Mark 12 fired a {{convert|55.18|lb|kg|adj=on}} shell to a maximum range of {{convert|17392|yd|m}} and a maximum elevation of {{convert|37200|ft|m}} at an elevation of 45 degrees.{{sfn|Breyer|1974|p=189}} They had a high rate of fire due to their being hand-loaded but power-rammed and their capability for easy loading at any angle of elevation. The introduction of proximity-fused anti-aircraft shells in 1943 made the 5&nbsp;in/38 even more potent in this capacity.{{sfn|DiGiulian 2012 (5"/38)}}

====Anti-aircraft guns====
[[File:USS West Virginia 1944.jpg|thumb|USS ''West Virginia'' in her final configuration, June 1944. Note 5&nbsp;in/38 twin turrets and number of AA guns]]
Four [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|adj=on|0}}/23 caliber gun]]s were mounted initially for [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft (AA) defense]]. This was increased to eight guns in 1922. These guns fired a {{convert|3|in|adj=on}} shell at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1650|ft/s|m/s}} to a maximum range of {{convert|8800|yd|m}} and ceiling of {{convert|18000|ft|m}} at an elevation of 45.3 degrees and a rate of between eight and nine rounds per minute.{{sfn|DiGiulian 2011 (3"/23)}} These weapons were replaced in 1928–1929 with the same number of [[5"/25 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|adj=on|0}}/25 caliber guns]], the first Navy gun designed specifically for AA use. They fired a {{convert|54|lb|kg|adj=on}} shell at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|2155|ft/s|m/s}} at a rate of between 15 and 20 rounds per minute to a maximum range of {{convert|14500|yd|m}} at an elevation of 45 degrees and a ceiling of {{convert|27400|ft|m}} at a maximum elevation of 85 degrees.{{sfn|DiGiulian 2011 (5"/25)}} These weapons were supplemented with quadruple-mount (quad) [[1.1-inch/75-caliber gun]]s in 1937–1938.{{sfn|Breyer|1973|p=230}}

In 1942, the air defense system on these ships was overhauled completely. In addition to their 5&nbsp;in/25s, they carried sixteen [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm gun]]s in quad mounts and up to thirty-two [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]s in single mounts. The quad 40&nbsp;mm Bofors fired a {{convert|1.985|lb|kg|adj=on}} shell at a rate of 120 rounds per minute per barrel nominal, 140 to 160 rounds per minute when horizontal (gravity assist), to a maximum range of {{convert|11133|yd|m}} at 45 degrees and a ceiling of {{convert|22299|ft|m}}. The 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikons fired a {{convert|0.271|lb|kg|adj=on}} shell at an average muzzle velocity of {{convert|2725|ft/s|m/s}} and a practical rate of between 250 and 320 rounds per minute to a maximum range of {{convert|4800|yd|m}} at 45 degrees and a ceiling of {{convert|10000|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Breyer|1973|pp=230–232}}{{sfn|DiGiulian 2011 (40mm)}}{{sfn|DiGiulian 2012 (20mm)}}

A second overhaul of AA defense was made between 1944 and 1945, as the Navy had found 20&nbsp;mm shells too light to stop Japanese ''[[kamikaze]]'' planes; this plus the higher approach speeds of these planes made these manually-controlled guns obsolete. In their place, more quad 40&nbsp;mm Bofors mounts were fitted. ''Maryland'' eventually carried 40{{sfn|McDonald|2023|p=210}} 40&nbsp;mm in 10 quad mountings and 36 20mm in 18 twin mountings{{sfn|McDonald|2023|p=210}} (a different source has her with forty-four 40mm in 11 quad mounts and forty-four 20mm in 20 twin and 1 quad mountings.{{sfn|Sturton|2008|p=217}}) ''Colorado'' had either 32{{sfn|Sturton|2008|p=217}} or 40{{sfn|Breyer|1973|pp=230–232}} 40mm in quad mountings but with 39 single, 8 twin and 1 quad 20mm.{{sfn|Sturton|2008|p=217}} ''West Virginia'' carried forty 40&nbsp;mm in quad mountings and 64 20&nbsp;mm guns in 58 single, one twin and one quad mounting{{sfn|Sturton|2008|p=217}}.{{sfn|Breyer|1973|pp=230–232}}{{sfn|DiGiulian 2011 (40mm)}}{{sfn|DiGiulian 2012 (20mm)}}