Hiei (ship)

Hiei (ship). The was a Kongō-class battlecruiser built for the Imperial Japanese Navy and commissioned in 1914. Initially designed as a battlecruiser, she underwent extensive modernization in the 1930s to become a fast battleship. She served in both World War I and World War II, participating in numerous major naval engagements before being sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942.

Design and construction

The *Hiei* was the second of four *Kongō*-class battlecruisers, her design heavily influenced by British naval architect George Thurston of Vickers. Ordered under the 1911 Naval Expansion Programme, her construction took place at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. Her original armament consisted of eight 14-inch guns mounted in four twin turrets, a layout common to contemporary dreadnought designs. Like her sister ships *Kongō*, *Kirishima*, and *Haruna*, she was powered by steam turbine engines driving four propellers, enabling high speeds that defined the battlecruiser role. Her initial displacement was approximately 27,500 tons, with armor protection optimized for speed over heavy defense.

Service history

Following her completion in August 1914, *Hiei*'s early service was during World War I, where she patrolled near China and safeguarded Japanese interests, though she saw no direct combat. In the interwar period, she served as a flagship for Emperor Hirohito and was frequently used for ceremonial duties, including imperial reviews. Under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, she was initially slated for scrapping or demilitarization. Instead, beginning in 1929, she underwent a series of major reconstructions at Kure Naval Arsenal that transformed her into a fast battleship, involving the replacement of her propulsion plant, addition of extensive anti-torpedo bulges, and significant increases to her horizontal armor and anti-aircraft armament.

World War II operations

At the outbreak of the Pacific War, *Hiei* was part of the Kido Butai's support force during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In early 1942, she provided distant cover for operations including the invasion of the Dutch East Indies and the Indian Ocean raid. She was part of the Main Body during the Battle of Midway in June 1942 but saw no action. Subsequently, she was deployed to the Solomon Islands campaign, operating from the major Japanese base at Truk Lagoon. In October 1942, she bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal during a mission with her sister ship *Kirishima*, engaging United States Marine Corps forces and their aircraft.

Sinking

*Hiei*'s final action was the intense Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of 12–13 November 1942. Serving as the flagship of Vice Admiral Hiroaki Abe, she led a bombardment group intending to shell Henderson Field. In a chaotic night engagement at close range with a United States Navy task force under Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan, *Hiei* was engaged by the American heavy cruisers *USS San Francisco* and *USS Portland* and several destroyers, including *USS Laffey*. She sustained critical damage from over 85 shell hits, which disabled her steering gear and left her circling uncontrollably. Vulnerable at dawn, she was subjected to relentless attacks by Grumman TBF Avenger and Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft from Henderson Field and the carrier *USS Enterprise*. Crippled and unable to maneuver, she was scuttled by Japanese destroyers northwest of Savo Island on the afternoon of 13 November, becoming the first Japanese battleship lost in the war.

Legacy

The loss of *Hiei* was a significant psychological and tactical blow to the Imperial Japanese Navy, demonstrating the vulnerability of capital ships to coordinated air and surface attack in confined waters. Her wreck was discovered in 2019 by the research vessel RV Petrel led by Paul Allen, resting in deep water near Guadalcanal. The *Hiei* is remembered as a participant in many pivotal naval events of the early Pacific War, and her design evolution from a British-influenced battlecruiser to a modernized fast battleship exemplifies the interwar technological progression of the Japanese fleet. Her sinking is studied in analyses of the Guadalcanal Campaign, a turning point in the war in the Pacific Theater.

Category:Battleships of Japan Category:World War II battleships Category:Ships sunk in World War II