From the very start of World War I, the General Board of the Navy intended to build battleships capable of reaching a speed of 23 knots and equipped with twelve 406 mm guns. By the summer of 1918, a conceptual design had been developed for a battleship with a significantly larger displacement compared to previous classes. It was essentially an enlarged version of the Colorado class but featuring triple turrets. The construction of battleships faced delays due to the adoption of an emergency program focused on expanding the anti-submarine warfare component. Eventually, the construction was canceled entirely per the agreements made during the Washington Naval Conference.