Following the expiration of the London Naval Treaty, the United States began designing ships specifically intended to counter enemy cruisers. The U.S. Navy High Command provided technical specifications to initiate the preliminary development of cruisers armed with six 305 mm and twelve 203 mm guns. One of the presented designs, CA2, was selected for further development, leading to the creation of several draft designs for cruisers equipped with 305 mm main battery guns. The CA2F design suggested placing seven guns in three turrets–two twin-gun turrets and one triple-gun turret.