In 1918 there was an proposal to modify the three "Indiana"-class ships to carry a single 98-caliber gun built by lining down a 50-caliber gun to that size. Preliminary design of the turret for the gun was completed in October for service in mid-1919, but the end of the war the following month caused the program to be converted into a test program for long-range guns. The Bureau of Ordnance decided to first test a gun lined down to 3 inches as a proof of concept, but those tests did not commence until 1922.