Kongo

History

Design

The Kongō-class battlecruiser (金剛型巡洋戦艦 Kongō-gata jun'yōsenkan) was a class of four battlecruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) immediately before World War I. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, the lead ship of the class, constructed in the UK by Vickers, was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan.

During the late 1920s, all but Hiei were reconstructed and reclassified as battleships. After the signing of the London Naval Treaty in 1930, Hiei was reconfigured as a training ship to avoid being scrapped. Following Japan's withdrawal from the London Naval Treaty, all four underwent a massive second reconstruction in the late 1930s. Following the completion of these modifications, which increased top speeds to over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), all four were reclassified as fast battleships.

The Kongō-class battleships were the most active capital ships of the Japanese Navy during World War II, participating in most major engagements of the war.

Service

Kongō (金剛, "Indestructible", named for Mount Kongō) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. She was the first battlecruiser of the Kongō class, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built, and the last capital ship to be built outside Japan. Her designer was the British naval engineer George Thurston, and she was laid down in 1911 at Barrow-in-Furness in Britain by Vickers Shipbuilding Company. Kongō was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan. She was formally commissioned in 1913, and patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I.

Kongō underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1929, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1935, her superstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, Kongō was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kongō operated off the coast of mainland China before being redeployed to the Third Battleship Division in 1941. In 1942, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore.

Kongō fought in a large number of major naval actions of the Pacific War during World War II. She covered the Japanese Army's amphibious landings in British Malaya (part of present-day Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1942, before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway and during the Guadalcanal Campaign. Throughout 1943, Kongō primarily remained at Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands, Kure Naval Base (near Hiroshima), Sasebo Naval Base (near Nagasaki), and Lingga Roads, and deployed several times in response to American aircraft carrier air raids on Japanese island bases scattered across the Pacific. The Kongō participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 (October 22–23), engaging and sinking American vessels in the latter. Kongō was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sealion while transiting the Formosa Strait on 21 November 1944. She was the only Japanese battleship sunk by submarine in the Second World War, and the last battleship sunk by submarine in history.

Miscellaneous

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  Haruna at Yokosuka, 11 September 1916.

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  A 14-inch gun being installed aboard Haruna, October 1914.

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  Kongō following her first reconstruction.

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  Hiei in 1933, as a training ship.

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  Kirishima off Amoy, China, in 1938.

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  Haruna in 1934, following her second reconstruction.

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  Yamashiro, Fuso and the fast battleship Haruna in the late 1930s.

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  A diagram of Hiei as she appeared in 1942, showing her superstructure which differs significantly from her sisters.

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  A diagram of Kongo as she appeared in 1944, showing her late-war enhanced AA protection and reduced casemate guns.