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| Kirishima (1915) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | Kirishima |
| Ship namesake | Mount Kirishima |
| Ship class | Kongo-class battleship (battlecruiser origin) |
| Ship launched | 1913 |
| Ship completed | 1915 |
| Ship displacement | 27,380 long tons (standard) |
| Ship length | 215.8 m |
| Ship beam | 28.0 m |
| Ship propulsion | Steam turbines, mixed coal and oil-fired boilers |
| Ship speed | 27.5 knots (design) |
| Ship armament | 8 × 14-inch guns, 16 × 6-inch guns, AA guns |
| Ship armor | Armored belt, deck and turret protection |
| Ship notes | Converted from battlecruiser to fast battleship during interwar modernizations |
Kirishima (1915) was a Japanese fast battleship completed in 1915 and the second of the Kongo-class ships designed under the Imperial Japanese Navy's Ten Year Naval Expansion Programme influenced by Sir George Thurston-era doctrines. Built to combine the speed of a battlecruiser with battleship firepower, she served through World War I, underwent extensive interwar modernizations, and fought in major engagements during the Pacific War before being sunk in 1942.
Kirishima originated from a design series developed by engineers collaborating with Vickers and influenced by signals from Alfred von Tirpitz and trends exemplified by HMS Indomitable and HMS Lion. Ordered under the Anglo-Japanese Anglo-Japanese Alliance naval planning, her keel was laid at Kawasaki Shipyard in Kobe with supervision by officers from the Imperial Japanese Navy including input from naval architects trained at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal and observers from the Royal Navy. The design prioritized high speed comparable to Battlecruiser HMS Tiger and heavy armament inspired by Dreadnought concepts and the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War.
Kirishima's machinery comprised Brown-Curtis steam turbines fed by mixed coal and oil-fired boilers similar to those used in contemporaneous German High Seas Fleet capital ships such as SMS Graf Spee precursors. Her main battery of eight 14-inch guns in four twin turrets reflected calibers adopted by United States Navy designs like USS Nevada (BB-36), while secondary batteries included 6-inch guns comparable to those aboard Royal Navy cruisers like HMS Exeter. Armor scheme integrated a waterline belt, turret faces, and conning tower with thicknesses rivaling Italian Regia Marina modernization standards and influenced by analyses from Naval War College and naval engineers who studied the Battle of Jutland.
Commissioned into the Combined Fleet in 1915, Kirishima operated under the command structure shaped by admirals such as Tōgō Heihachirō's successors and participated in peacetime maneuvers that involved fleets from United States Pacific Fleet visits, Royal Navy training exchanges, and observation missions related to the Washington Naval Treaty. Deployments included patrols in the South China Sea, escort duties near Malaya, and exercises with cruisers named after regions like Chikuma and Tone as Japan extended influence across East Asia and the Pacific Islands.
During World War I, Kirishima was deployed to secure Japanese interests and protect shipping lanes threatened by raiders such as SMS Emden. Operating alongside cruisers and destroyers influenced by doctrine from the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, she took part in escort operations and blockade duties that supported Allied efforts coordinated with the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Navy squadrons. Her presence contributed to Japanese seizure of possessions like the Marshall Islands and Mariana Islands from German colonial holdings, in cooperation with the South Seas Mandate administration established after the war and decisions at the Paris Peace Conference.
Kirishima underwent major reconstructions in the 1920s and 1930s influenced by restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty and later by strategic reviews from the Imperial General Headquarters. Modifications included lengthened hulls, improved Yarrow boiler arrangements, strengthened armor, and replacement of original turbines with higher-efficiency units like those developed by Brown-Curtis and GE licensees. She received upgraded fire-control systems influenced by research at the Naval Artillery Technical Establishment and anti-aircraft batteries patterned after Bofors developments. These changes paralleled refits on contemporaries such as Hiei, Haruna, and Kongo and prepared her for operations with carrier task forces under admirals like Isoroku Yamamoto.
Kirishima participated in early Pacific War operations including escort duties during the attack on Pearl Harbor and support of invasions of Wake Island and Guadalcanal associated with campaigns planned by the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff and executed by elements of the Combined Fleet. She fought in surface actions involving opponents from the United States Navy such as USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS South Dakota (BB-57), and USS Washington (BB-56), and engaged in night actions informed by doctrine tested against Royal Navy night-fighting examples. Kirishima supported cruiser and destroyer groups named after vessels like Mikuma and Mogami and participated in attempts to reinforce garrisons on Guadalcanal during engagements around Savo Island and the Solomon Islands campaign.
Kirishima was sunk in November 1942 during surface action near Savo Island and Cape Esperance following a night engagement with the United States Navy battleship squadron led by Vice Admiral William Halsey's contemporaries and task groups operating from Task Force 67. The loss paralleled other wartime sinkings such as Hiei and influenced Japanese decisions on capital ship deployment amid rising United States Pacific Fleet dominance. Wreck surveys by marine archaeologists from institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and research teams using ROV technology and submersibles from organizations such as NOAA and universities have informed studies on corrosion, ordnance dispersal, and the human cost memorialized by descendants and memorials near Truk Lagoon and Rabaul. Kirishima's remains contribute to naval history exhibits at museums including the Yokosuka Museum of Art (Naval) and archives held by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and scholars studying the evolution of 20th-century capital ships.
Category:Kongo-class battleships Category:Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Category:1913 ships