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The surrounding paragraph is describing the **Montana-class battleships (BB-67 through BB-71)**. Primary U.S. Navy reference material places the authorization for these Montana-class ships in **1940**, under the “Two-Ocean Navy” building program—not in 1939. ## What the Navy sources say * The U.S. Navy’s *Online Library of Selected Images* (HyperWar) entry for the **Montana Class (BB-67 through BB-71)** states that the five ships were **“authorized under the 1940 ‘Two Ocean Navy’ building program”** (and funded in FY 1941). * The *Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships* (DANFS) compilation page lists **BB-67 Montana** (and the other Montana-class hulls) as **“Authorized 7/19/40”**. That directly contradicts the claim that the first two Montana-class vessels were approved by Congress in 1939 as a result of the 1938 Act. ## Why this is likely a mix-up The **Naval Act of 1938** is commonly discussed in connection with authorization for **Iowa-class** battleships (e.g., the Navy ordering Iowa and New Jersey in July 1939), which is separate from the later 1940 authorization for the Montana-class ships. In short: **1938/1939 pertains to Iowa-class ordering/authorization**, while **Montana-class authorization is tied to the 1940 Two-Ocean Navy program**—so attributing the Montana-class approval to 1939/1938 is inaccurate in this context.