In the early 1930s, the ship underwent a minor modification. Her battery of 3-inch anti-aircraft guns were replaced with 5-inch /25 cal. guns and .50-caliber machine guns were installed on her fore and main masts. She also received aircraft catapults on her quarterdeck and atop the rear superfiring turret. During Fleet Problem XIV in February 1933, "West Virginia" and the battleship were "damaged" in a surprise attack by "black" fleet submarines. Plans to modernize "West Virginia" dated to the mid-1930s, when the navy considered modifying the ship extensively; the Bureau of Construction and Repair planned to add anti-torpedo bulges that would have restored a considerable amount of buoyancy to the hull, raising her at the cost of an additional displacement. The work was not carried out, and in 1937 further plans to modernize "West Virginia", her sister ships, and the two "Tennessee"-class ships, were considered. The proposed modifications included new boilers and fire control equipment and the previously suggested bulges. Further development of the modernization program in 1938 was rejected due to its cost and the fact that, even as modernized, the vessels would be inferior to the new and s being built.