Kongo
356 mm/45 41st Year Type in a twin turret4 х 2 pcs. |
Rate of Fire1.94 shots/min. |
Reload Time31 sec. |
Rotation Speed3 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time60 sec. |
Firing Range19.27 km. |
Maximum Dispersion236 m. |
HE Shell356 mm HE Type0 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage5,700 |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell25 % |
Initial HE Shell Velocity805 m./s. |
HE Shell Weight625 kg. |
AP Shell356 mm AP Type5 |
Maximum AP Shell Damage10,000 |
Initial AP Shell Velocity790 m./s. |
AP Shell Weight635.5 kg. |
127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 mount4 х 2 pcs. |
Firing Range4.3 km. |
Rate of Fire12 shots/min. |
Reload Time5 sec. |
HE Shell127 mm HE Type0 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage2,100 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity725 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell8 % |
152 mm/50 41st Year Type on a casemate mount14 х 1 pcs. |
Firing Range4.3 km. |
Rate of Fire6 shots/min. |
Reload Time10 sec. |
HE Shell152 mm HE Type4 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage2,500 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity825 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell9 % |
127 mm/40 Type 89 on a Model A1 mount4 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second40.4 |
. . . Firing Range5.01 km. |
13 mm/76 Type 93 on a twin mount12 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second24 |
. . . Firing Range1.2 km. |
Maximum Speed24.9 knot |
Turning Circle Radius770 m. |
Rudder Shift Time17.2 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range15.71 km. |
Air Detectability Range9.36 km. |
Kongō — Japanese Tier V battleship.
In 1910, Japan ordered a new battlecruiser from British company Vickers, and Japanese engineers also participated in the design process. During World War I, Kongō supported Japanese troops during the Siege of Tsingtao and took part in patrol operations. During World War II, the ship covered the landings in Malaya and the Philippines, and she participated in the Battles of Midway, the Santa Cruz Islands, Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf. On November 21, 1944, Kongō took two torpedo hits from submarine USS Sealion and sank a few hours later.
Modules
Compatible Upgrades
Slot 1 |
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Slot 2 |
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Slot 3 |
Player Opinion
Performance
Kongo is one of the more fun battleships to play with, particularly when in her own tier. At her tier and anything within her matchmaking table she outranges because of her maxed out range of 21.2 km and with a scout plane active, the Kongo can have a range comparable to a Yamato that did not launch its spotting plane with a total of 25.44 km. She's also the second battlecruiser in the Japanese battleship line with Amagi being the last of it because after being in the tier III Kawachi, Kongo makes you adapt to a newer style as she does not fully have the armor to get in all out salvofests with dreadnoughts such as her US and German Tier 5 counterpart New York and König, which has better armor but lower speed before going back to dreadnoughts again when you reach Fuso. As a battlecruiser, you pay for that maneuverability with lighter armor protection. Presenting your broadside to any battleship opponent, even tier 3's, is very dangerous and will quickly get you sunk. Kongo can also see up to Tier 7 battleship opponents that are unlikely to bounce a shot at even extreme angles and fire enough of them to sink her in one salvo. At her tier however, she takes her pride as the fastest battleship along with her decent maneuverability which can ease the burden of performing evasive maneuvers against salvos or torpedoes.
At stock, you WILL have problems when a match has aircraft carriers on it because of her stock battlecruiser configuration which has a nonexistent AA suite which will give you problems when carrier players are hellbent in sinking you and you don't have escorts with good AA suites themselves with you, adding the fact that you should treat this particular hull having virtually no torpedo bulges to protect against torpedo hits but your guns and surface combat ability can keep you in-line despite having a nonexistent AA suite.Pros:
- Great gun range: Reaching out to 21+ kilometers, she has the second highest range in the mid tiers after Fuso
- Impressive speed: Kongo can reach 30 knots, allowing her to keep up with cruisers and relocate if needed
- Decent agility: She is surprisingly maneuverable and can cover her turning circle quite quickly
- Good gun characteristics: her guns are accurate, powerful, and have decent penetration
- Feels like a modern battleship in a world of outdated WW1 era ships
Cons:
- Low AA suite potency: Her AA suite will not do much against higher tier aircraft
- Poor stock configuration: her stock hull has a virtually non-existent AA suite, mediocre speed and questionable AP performance
- High detection range: She is easily seen at 16km
- Battlecruiser armor: Her weak armor is easily penetrated by battleship shells, though it can be partially overcome with angling.
- Sluggish rudder shift time: It takes a long time for her to start turning compared to USN Battleships
- Being a mid tier battleship, her dispersion is still quite high at longer range
- There is little point of using spotting plane when having the longest based firing range of her tier
Research
With an Anti-air rating of 3 in the stock configuration, the first thing you'll notice with the Kongo is how enemy carriers laugh at her. One of the first things however that you should get is the propulsion upgrade. Whilst it doesn't help with aircraft, the increase in maneuverability and speed is noticeable. After upgrading the propulsion the hull is probably best next. With a default gun range of 19.3km, the Kongo still out-ranges most of its opponents and the AA increase and the addition of the scout plane is well worth it. The scout plane will give you a 20% range increase when active, effectively making it longer than the aiming system upgrade. Once you have done the hull there is only the aiming system to go, which afterwards makes this a potent war machine.
Alternatively, since the ship is already faster than her American counterparts with a 25 knot speed stock, you can instead focus on getting both Hull upgrades. Both upgrades increase the turret traverse and decrease the main battery reload times while also adding additional AA firepower. The B hull is also noteworthy in that it increases the deck armor and minimum citadel armor, allowing her to survive the long range gunnery duels she excels at a little easier. After getting both hull upgrades getting the speed upgrade should follow since increasing the range on the Kongo isn't necessary. Getting the range upgrade increases you maximum dispersion, but only by 17 meters which for a battleship is unnoticeable.
For her Equipment, as usual the Main Armaments Modification 1, improving the resilience of her main batteries, and the Damage Control Systems Modification 1, giving a minor improvement to her fire resistance and torpedo protection, should be fitted. At Tier 5, Kongo can mount Slot 2 equipment, of which the Aiming Systems Modification 1 is generally the best choice, improving her accuracy at the long ranges she can fire at.
Her captain, if carried over from previous ships, should already have either Basics of Survivability or Basic Firing Training, Expert Marksman, and either Vigilance, High Alert, or Superintendent. For her fourth skill, Advanced fire control, which extends the range of her AA and secondary batteries should be selected. If keeping her or outfitting her almost identical Arpeggio of Blue Steel counterparts, you can ignore Advanced Fire Control, and select among the lower skills, or alternatively select Manual Control for AA Armaments (which requires manual targeting to activate, or your long ranged AA guns won't even fire), which can be combined with the Basic Fire Control Skill and the AA Guns Modification 2 Equipment upgrade to give her fearsome AA capabilities that can shred aircraft squadrons at her tier and lower from long range. If you have the time to grind her or are bringing a captain from higher up the line, getting Concealment Expert reduces her detection range to 13.5 km (14 km for her ARP counterpart), and can make her quite flexible at fighting at medium ranges.Gallery
Historical Info
Historical Gallery