The "North Carolina" class was a class of two fast battleships, and , built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Navy was originally uncertain whether the ships should be fast enough to counter the Japanese , which was believed by the United States to be capable of , or should sacrifice speed for additional firepower and armor. The 1936 Second London Naval Treaty's requirement that all capital ships have a standard displacement of under prevented the desired objectives from being fully realized within its limits, and the navy considered over fifty designs before one was chosen.