USS Kentucky (BB-66)

USS Kentucky under construction. The barbettes which would have held the gun turrets are prominent.
History
United States
Namesake:	State of Kentucky
Ordered:	9 September 1940
Builder:	Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Laid down:	12 June 1944
Launched:	Canceled prior to launch
Reclassified:	BBG-1 from BB-66
Struck:	9 June 1958
Fate:	Sold for scrapping 31 October 1958
General characteristics
Class and type:	Iowa-class battleship
Displacement:	45,000 tons (planned)
Length:	887 ft 3 in (270.43 m) (planned)
Beam:	108 ft 2 in (32.97 m) (planned)
Speed:	33 kn (38 mph; 61 km/h) (planned)
Complement:	151 officers, 2,637 enlisted (planned)
Armament:	(planned) 9 × 16 in (410 mm)/50 cal Mark 7 guns 10 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal Mark 12 guns 80 × 40 mm/56 cal anti-aircraft guns 49 × 20 mm/70 cal anti-aircraft guns
Armor:	Belt: 12.1 in (310 mm) Bulkheads: 11.3 in (290 mm) Barbettes: 11.6 to 17.3 in (290 to 440 mm) Turrets: 19.7 in (500 mm) Decks: 7.5 in (190 mm)

USSKentucky (BB-66) was an uncompleted battleship originally intended to be the sixth and final member of the Iowa class constructed for the United States Navy. At the time of her construction she was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Hull BB-66 was originally to be the second ship of the Montana class. However, the U.S. Navy's experiences in World War II led it to conclude that it required more fast battleships to escort the new Essex-class aircraft carriers that were being built. As a result, Kentucky was reordered as an Iowa-class battleship midway through the war. Like her sister ship Illinois, Kentucky was still under construction at the end of hostilities and was caught up in the post-war draw-down of the armed services. Her construction was suspended twice, during which times she served as a spare parts cache of sorts. In the 1950s, there were several proposals to complete the ship as a guided missile battleship. These were abandoned primarily due to cost concerns, and Kentucky ultimately was sold for scrap in 1958.

Kentucky was conceived in 1935, when the United States Navy initiated design studies for the creation of an extended South Dakota class that was not restricted by the Second London Naval Treaty. This resulting in one of the "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair.

The passage of the Second Vinson Act in 1938 had cleared the way for construction of the four South Dakota-class battleships and the first two Iowa-class fast battleships (those with the hull numbers BB-61 and BB-62). The latter four battleships of the class, those designated with the hull numbers BB-63, BB-64, BB-65, and BB-66 (Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kentucky, respectively) were not cleared for construction until 12 July 1940,. While BB-63 and BB-64 were originally planned as the final ships in the Iowa-class to serve as fast escorts for the Essex-class aircraft carriers, BB-65 and BB-66 were intended to be the first ships of the Montana class which was larger and slower while mounting twelve 16 in (410 mm) Mark 7 guns. However, the passage of an emergency war building program on 19 July 1940 resulting in Illinois and Kentucky being re-ordered as the fifth and sixth ships, respectively, of the Iowa class in order to save time on construction, so the first ship of the Montana-class would be reassigned as BB-67. The orders for BB-65 and BB-66 were placed on 9 September 1940, and the ships were laid down on 6 December 1942, and 7 March 1942, respectively.