Kongo-class battlecruiser

Kongo-class battlecruiser. The four Kongō-class battlecruisers were the most powerful capital ships in the Imperial Japanese Navy upon their completion during World War I. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston and constructed between 1911 and 1915, they represented a synthesis of British design expertise and Japanese naval ambition. These formidable warships, comprising Kongō, Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna, underwent extensive modernization between the wars, transforming them into fast battleships that played pivotal roles throughout the Pacific War.

Design and description

The design originated from the Imperial Japanese Navy's desire for a battlecruiser capable of outperforming the contemporary British ''Indefatigable''-class. The contract was awarded to Vickers Limited at Barrow-in-Furness, with Sir George Thurston serving as the lead designer. The initial design featured eight 14-inch guns mounted in four twin turrets, a secondary battery of sixteen 6-inch guns, and a top speed of 27.5 knots, making them among the fastest capital ships of their era. Their armor scheme, influenced by the Invincible-class battlecruiser, was designed to protect against shells of a similar caliber to their own main armament. The construction of the lead ship, Kongō, in Britain allowed for the transfer of advanced naval technology, while her three sisters were built in Japanese shipyards like the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal and Mitsubishi Shipyard Co., Ltd. in Nagasaki, significantly advancing Japan's domestic warship-building capabilities.

Construction and service history

Kongō was laid down at Vickers in January 1911, launched in May 1912, and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy in August 1913. Hiei was built at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Kirishima at Mitsubishi Shipyard Co., Ltd., and Haruna at the Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation yard in Kobe. All four were completed by 1915. They saw limited service during World War I, primarily conducting patrols. In the interwar period, beginning in the late 1920s and culminating in the 1930s, all underwent massive reconstructions. These involved replacing machinery, adding extensive bulge anti-torpedo protection, increasing deck armor, and modernizing their superstructures into the distinctive "pagoda" masts, which reclassified them as fast battleships. Their speed was increased to over 30 knots, allowing them to operate with carrier task forces.

Ships in class

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Name ! Builder ! Laid down ! Launched ! Commissioned ! Fate |- | Kongō | Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness | 17 January 1911 | 18 May 1912 | 16 August 1913 | Sunk by USS ''Sealion'', 21 November 1944 |- | Hiei | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal | 4 November 1911 | 21 November 1912 | 4 August 1914 | Scuttled after damage from naval gunfire and aircraft at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942 |- | Kirishima | Mitsubishi, Nagasaki | 17 March 1912 | 1 December 1913 | 19 April 1915 | Scuttled after engagement with USS ''Washington'' at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 15 November 1942 |- | Haruna | Kawasaki, Kobe | 16 March 1912 | 14 December 1913 | 19 April 1915 | Sunk at moorings at Kure Naval District by aircraft from Task Force 38, 28 July 1945 |}

Operational history

During the Pacific War, the class was heavily engaged from the outset. They provided escort and bombardment support for the Invasion of Malaya, the Battle of Singapore, and the Indian Ocean raid in early 1942. Hiei and Kirishima were central to the fierce night actions during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, where both were lost. Kirishima was fatally damaged in a classic battleship duel with USS ''Washington''. Kongō and Haruna continued in service, participating in major engagements like the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where Kongō was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS ''Sealion''. Haruna survived until the final months of the war, only to be sunk at her moorings in Kure during a series of devastating attacks by carrier aircraft of the United States Third Fleet.

Legacy and evaluation

The Kongō-class holds a significant place in naval history as the last class of battlecruisers built for Japan and the only Japanese capital ships to see active service throughout the entire Pacific War. Their extensive reconstructions demonstrated the Imperial Japanese Navy's commitment to modernizing its existing fleet in the face of treaty limitations like the Washington Naval Treaty. While successful as fast battleships and valuable escorts for the Combined Fleet's carrier forces, their design origins left them with inherent vulnerabilities in protection compared to contemporary battleships, a weakness exposed at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Their careers spanned the rise and fall of Japanese naval power, from their origins in a British shipyard to their destruction by American air and naval power.

Category:Battlecruiser classes Category:Ship classes of the Imperial Japanese Navy