First tentative Scheme in the path-finding process during the early stages of the BB-55 design progress. This arrangement was inspired by the French Dunqerkue design as it allowed all guns to fire ahead at an elevation of only 4.5° (10kyards range). It was not realized however that this layout was actually heavier compared to a conventional one. Armament consisted of the new 14″/50 Mark B (1500 lb ‘heavy’ shell) but protection was based on the older 14″/50 Mark 7/11 guns performance (1400 lb shell). Basically this design acted as the starting point for all modern USN fast BBs that followed.