Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "USS South Dakota (1920) (NB) - Guide 053 (Human Voice)" video.

  1. Friedman has a negative take on these ships. They were unsatisfactory in several ways, including a low metacentric height, but, as Congress had ordered them, the Board felt obligated to start construction of something.
    4
  2.  @gruntforever7437  in the three years since I posted that comment, I have continued to look in to the issue. The Navy had no choice about whether to proceed with the South Dakotas. The House added language to the annual Navy appropriation bill in June, 1918, urging the Navy to make a start on the ships authorized in 1916, but not yet started, which included the South Dakotas and Lexingtons. When the legislation got to the Senate, the Senate changed the wording from urging, to demanding, the Navy make a start on those ships. This was reported in the newspapers at the time. Apparently, Admiral Taylor, the chief designer, was not happy with the design, and drew up something he liked a lot better, but it was bigger and more expensive, so it was a no-go.
    1