Key Points and Summary: The USS Illinois (BB-65) was planned as an Iowa-class battleship during World War II, embodying the Navy’s reliance on heavily armored “battlewagons.” -Ordered in ...

The USS Illinois was authorized under the Two-Ocean Navy Act of July 19, ... BB-65 was reordered and reconfigured as the ...

Summary and Key Points: The USS Illinois (BB-65), the fifth Iowa-class battleship, was laid down during World War II but never completed.Initially intended as a Montana-class battleship, the ...

The USS Illinois Might Have Been Great. Had the Illinois been built as originally intended, it would have displaced 48,110 long tons standard and up to 57,540 long tons at full combat load. Armed ...