No steel shortage

My first thought is, were there enough construction facilities to do it, regardless of materials availability? I would think there was a limited number of docks/yards capable of building them-are they needed for other work?
 

nbcman

Donor
The Montanas weren't cancelled due to shortages of steel. They were delayed due to a shortage of available shipyards - then they were cancelled when it was recognized that they were not necessary due to the change in naval combat from surface actions to carrier actions. They were too slow to keep up with Essex class CVs where Iowas could. This is why those two classes were prioritized in the shipyards.

EDIT: Also the Montanas were too big to get through the Panama Canal. So they had no post war future and were rightly seen as a waste of material.
 
Last edited:

nbcman

Donor
They could have had all the steel they wanted but the Montanas were not necessary. There were higher priorities at the shipyards than them.

With regards to the expansion of the Panama Canal, the plan to expand the locks by adding a 3rd set of larger locks was halted in response to the cancellation of the Montanas as well as local concerns that the addition of the 3rd locks was a security risk:

As far as the defense of the canal was concerned, Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews, Commanding General, Caribbean Defense Command, considered the third locks project a hindrance rather than a help. "The greatest danger to the Canal today," he wrote in May 1942, "is an air raid which would damage the lake level gates to the extent that would result in the loss of water in Gatun Lake .... The construction of a third set of lake level locks would present to the enemy an additional means of accomplishing its objective and would consequently render the local defense problem more complex."

When the lock expansion was cancelled, there were already contracts and materials allocated that were diverted to more critical war needs. So there were materials potentially available to expand the Panama Canal by mid-1946.

So far you've claimed there was a steel shortage in 1942 that has impacted two items. Do you have any citations for your claims as it relates to the Montanas and the Panama Canal?
 
From 'All the World's Battleships', "They [the Montana's] were suspended at Presidential direction in April 1942, owing to an apparent steel shortage; the same reason was given for cancellation of the new Panama Canal locks."
 
Top