Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Battle Cruisers, Kongō-class: Kongō, Haruna, Kirishima and Hiei

Imperial Japanese Navy Heavy Cruisers of the Second World War

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy Cruiser Division 5, the Ashigara, Haguro, and Nachi (R to L), taken from the Myoko, 1936.

Battlecruisers (jun'yōsenkan), Kongō-class

Four Kongo-class battlecruisers were built for the IJN just before the First World War.  Designed in the UK, the lead ship of the class, Kongo, was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan, by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furnsess.  Her sister ships, Haruna, Kirishima and Hiei, were all completed in 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 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 Kongo-class battleships were the most active capital ships of the Japanese Navy during the Second World War, participating in most of the major engagements of the war.  Hiei and Kirishima acted as escorts during the attack on Pearl Harbor, while Kongo and Haruna supported the invasion of Singapore.  All four participated in the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal.  Hiei and Kirishima were both lost during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, while Haruna and Kongo jointly bombarded the American Henderson Field airbase on Guadalcanal.  The two remaining Kongo-class battleships spent most of 1943 shuttling between Japanese naval bases before participating in the major naval campaigns of 1944 . Haruna and Kongo engaged American surface vessels during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in late October 1944.  Kongo was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sealion in November 1944, while Haruna was sunk at her moorings by an air attack in Kure Naval Base in late July 1945, but later raised and scrapped in 1946.

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kongō

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kongō on sea trials off the coast of Tateyama 14 November 1936.

Kongō (Japanese: 金剛; named after Mount Kongō) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First and Second World Wars. She was the first battlecruiser of the Kongō class, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. 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 the First World War.

Kongō underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1929, the ImperialJapanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armour 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 many major naval actions of the Pacific War during the Second World War. 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. Kongō participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20June) and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 (22–23 October), sinking the destroyer escort USS Samuel B Roberts and helping to cripple the destroyer USS Heermann in the latter engagement. 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 a submarine in the Second World War. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kongo after 1931 reconstruction.

Kongō. Vickers Shipbuilding, Barrow-in-FurnessKongō-class battlecruiser 26,230 16 August 1913 21 November 1944; sunk by USS Sealion in the Formosa Strait.

(IJN Photo)

Kongo after 1931 reconstruction.

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Hiei

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Hiei, undergoing a full-power trial off Tsukugewan, 1939.

‍Hiei. Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan Kongō-class battlecruiser 26,230 4August 1914 13 November 1942; sunk by USN ships and aircraft in the NavalBattle of Guadalcanal. Hiei (Japanese: 比叡; named after Mount Hiei) was a warship of the Imperial JapaneseNavy during the First and Second World War. Designed by British naval architectGeorge Thurston, she was the second launched of four Kongō-classbattlecruisers, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laiddown in 1911 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Hiei was formally commissioned in1914. She patrolled off the Chinese coast on several occasions during the FirstWorld War, and helped with rescue efforts following the 1923 Great Kantōearthquake.

Starting in 1929, Hiei was converted to a gunnery training ship to avoid beingscrapped under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. She served as EmperorHirohito's transport in the mid-1930s. After the treaty fell apart in 1937, sheunderwent a full-scale reconstruction that completely rebuilt hersuperstructure, upgraded her powerplant, and equipped her with launch catapultsfor floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing fleet of aircraftcarriers, she was reclassified as a fast battleship. On the eve of the US entryinto the Second World War, she sailed as part of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo'sCombined Fleet, escorting the six carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7December 1941.

As part of the Third Battleship Division, Hiei participated in many of theImperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for theinvasion of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) as well as the Indian Oceanraid of April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, she sailed in the InvasionForce under Admiral Nobutake Kondō, before being redeployed to the SolomonIslands during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She escorted Japanese carrier forcesduring the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands, beforesailing as part of a bombardment force under Admiral Kondō during the NavalBattle of Guadalcanal. In the early hours of 13 November 1942, Hiei engagedAmerican cruisers and destroyers alongside her sister ship Kirishima. Afterhelping to sink the light cruiser USS Atlanta and the destroyer USS Monssen,damage numerous other warships, and help to kill two Admirals, Hiei wascrippled by shell hits from the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco that jammed herrudder. Subjected to a daylight air attack from Henderson Field and theaircraft carrier USS Enterprise, she was scuttled on the evening of 13 November1942. (Wikipedia)

(Kure Naval Arsenal Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Hiei undergoes a full-power trial off Tsukugewan, 5 Dec 1939.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Hiei in Sasebo after first reconstruction, 1926.

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna in 1934, following her second reconstruction.

‍Haruna. Kawasaki, Kobe Kongō-class battlecruiser 26,230 19 April 1915 28 July 1945; sunk by USN aircraft at Kure. Haruna (Japanese: 榛名; named after Mount Haruna) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the First and Second World Wars. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston, she was the fourth and last battlecruiser of the Kongō class, amongst the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laiddown in 1912 at the Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe, Haruna was formally commissionedin 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Kirishima. Haruna patrolled off theChinese coast during the First World War. During gunnery drills in 1920, anexplosion destroyed one of her guns, damaged the gun turret, and killed sevenmen.

During her career, Haruna underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in1926, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening herarmor and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1933, hersuperstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she wasequipped with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompanyJapan's growing carrier fleet, Haruna was reclassified as a fast battleship.During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Haruna transported Imperial Japanese Armytroops to mainland China before being redeployed to the 3rd Battleship Divisionin 1941. On the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as partof the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore.

Haruna fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. She covered the Japanese landings in Malaya (in present-dayMalaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1942 before engagingAmerican forces at the Battle of Midway and during the Guadalcanal Campaign.Throughout 1943, Haruna primarily remained at Truk Lagoon (Micronesia), KureNaval Base (near Hiroshima), Sasebo Naval Base (near Nagasaki), and the LinggaIslands (in present-day Indonesia), and deployed on several occasions inresponse to American carrier airstrikes on Japanese island bases. Harunaparticipated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulfin 1944, engaging American vessels in the latter. In 1945, Haruna wastransferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 28 July 1945. (Wikipedia)

(Kure Maritime Museum Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna at Yokosuka in 1935.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna undergoing trials after her reconstruction in 1928.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna underway, 1931.

(USN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna sunk at her moorings, 8 October 1945.

(USN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Haruna sunk at her moorings, cOctober 1945.

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kirishima

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kirishima near Beppu, Kyushu, Japan in mid-October 1932.

‍Kirishima. Mitsubishi, Nagasaki Kongō-class battlecruiser 26,230 19April 1915 15 November 1942; sunk by USS Washington in the Naval Battleof Guadalcanal. Kirishima (Japanese: 霧島; named after Mount Kirishima) was a warship of the ImperialJapanese Navy which saw service during the First and Second World War. Designedby British naval engineer George Thurston, she was the third launched of thefour Kongō-class battlecruisers. Laid down in 1912 at the Mitsubishi Shipyardsin Nagasaki, Kirishima was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Haruna. Kirishima patrolled on occasion off the Chinese coast during the First World War, and helped with rescue efforts following the 1923Great Kantō earthquake.

Starting in 1927, Kirishima's first reconstruction rebuilt her as a battleship,strengthening her armor and improving her speed. From 1934, a secondreconstruction completely rebuilt her superstructure, upgraded her engineplant, and equipped her with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enoughto accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, she was reclassified as a fastbattleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kirishima acted primarily as asupport vessel and troop transport, moving army troops to mainland China. On the eve of the Second World War, she sailed as part of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo'sKido Butai as an escort for the six carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December1941.

As part of the Third Battleship Division, Kirishima participated in many of theImperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for theinvasion of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and in the Indian Ocean raidof April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, she provided escort to Nagumo'sfour carriers, before redeploying to the Solomon Islands during the Battle ofGuadalcanal. She escorted Japanese carrier fleets during the battles of theEastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands, before sailing as part of abombardment force under Admiral Nobutake Kondō during the Naval Battle ofGuadalcanal.

On the evening of 13 November 1942, Kirishima engaged American cruisers anddestroyers alongside her sister ship Hiei. On the night of 14/15 November, in one of only two battleship duels of the Pacific War, IJN Kirishima attacked and damaged the American battleship USS South Dakota before being fatally crippled in turn by the battleship USS Washington under the command of Rear Admiral Willis Augustus Lee Jr and then Captain Glenn B. Davis. Kirishima capsized and sank in the early morning on 15 November 1942 in Iron bottom Sound. (Wikipedia)

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kirishima, 1940.

(Kure Maritime Museum Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kirishima and the fast carrier Akagi off Sukumo, April 1939.

(Kure Maritime Museum Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kirishima in 1932, following her first reconstruction.

(IJN Photo)

Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser  Kirishima at Tsukumowan, Japan, 10 May 1937.

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Four Tsukuba and Ibuki class armoured cruisers were re-classed as "battlecruisers" by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1912.