To minimize the drawbacks of the inclined belt, it sloped outward from the keel, then back in towards the armored deck. This meant that shells fired at relatively close range would hit the upper portion of the belt at an angle, which maximized armor protection. However, the effectiveness of the upper portion of the belt was degraded at longer ranges, because plunging fire would strike it at an angle closer to the perpendicular, increasing their ability to penetrate the armor. It did reduce the area that needed to be covered by the armored deck, which saved additional weight. This enabled the upper belt to be thicker, which to an extent ameliorated the vulnerability to plunging fire. Because the belt was internal, it provided the opportunity to extend it to the inner portion of the double bottom, which gave the ship better underwater protection than the "North Carolina"s. Ultimately, the complex double incline belt armor was abandoned when it became apparent that a single slanted belt could provide similar protection, and save several hundred tons of weight.