"By January 1941, the design limit for the 58,000 ton (53,000 tonne) battleship plan had been reached, and consensus among those designing the battleship class was to increase the displacement to support the armor and weaponry on the ships. "
The word "displacement" can refer to more than one number. According to Wikipedia, Montana class "standard displacement" was set at 65,000 tons and "full load" at 71,000 tons. It also calls the "design limit" 58,000 tons.
For the Iowa class, we are given three weights: 45,000 tons standard, 52,000 tons mean war service, and 58,000 tons full load.
The reporters questioned here about a 65,000 to 80,000 ton battleship, which could only refer to the Montanas. These were presumably on the drawing boards by January 1940, so Edison and Stark were doing a bit more than just "giving thought" to such matters.
1940 study plan:
In the end, of course, the material and production capacity for these last five battleships was converted over to help build 24 Essex class aircraft carriers.
