Kongo-class battleship

Kongo-class battleship was a class of four Japanese fast battleships, Kongo, Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna, built as battlecruisers before the First World War and modernised in the 1930s into fast battleships. The ships were the fastest capital ships in the Japanese navy, capable of about 30 knots, and they were used as carrier escorts, shore bombardment ships, and fast battleships throughout the Pacific War. They fought at Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf, and all four were lost: Hiei and Kirishima were sunk at Guadalcanal in November 1942, Kongo was sunk by the submarine USS Sealion in November 1944, and Haruna was sunk at anchor at Kure in July 1945. The Kongo class was the only class of Japanese battleships in which all four ships were lost, and it is remembered as the class that carried the Japanese navy from the age of the battlecruiser to the age of the carrier, and that died with it.

1. Key Facts

Class/Type	Kongo-class fast battleship (originally battlecruiser)
Launched	Kongo 1912; Hiei 1912; Kirishima 1913; Haruna 1913
Commissioned	1913-1915; modernised 1929-1937
Displacement	About 31,720 tons standard after modernisation; about 36,000-38,000 tons full load
Length	222 metres
Speed	About 30.5 knots after modernisation
Complement	About 1,360 officers and men
Armament	8 x 356 mm guns; 14 x 152 mm guns; 8 x 127 mm anti-aircraft guns; 20 x 25 mm anti-aircraft guns (later increased)
Aircraft	3 floatplanes
Fate	All four lost: Hiei and Kirishima 1942; Kongo 1944; Haruna 1945

2. Development

The Battlecruiser Origins

The Kongo class was designed in Britain, by the naval architect George Thurston, and built under a contract that gave Japan its first modern battlecruisers. Kongo was built at Barrow-in-Furness, England, and launched in 1912, while her sisters were built in Japan, at Yokosuka and Nagasaki, and launched in 1912 and 1913. The ships were designed as battlecruisers, with a speed of about 27 knots and an armament of eight 14-inch guns, and they were intended to outrun and outgun any cruiser, and to scout for the battle fleet. The design was based on the British Lion class, but with improvements, including a better layout and more powerful machinery. The ships served in the First World War, although they saw little action, and they were the most modern capital ships in the Japanese navy when the Washington Naval Treaty was signed in 1922, which limited the construction of new battleships and forced Japan to modernise its existing ships instead of building new ones.

Modernisation in the 1930s

In the 1930s, the four Kongo-class ships were modernised in two stages, which turned them from battlecruisers into fast battleships. The first modernisation, in 1929-1931, added a pagoda mast, improved the fire control, and increased the armour over the magazines. The second modernisation, in 1933-1937, was more extensive: the ships were lengthened by about 8 metres, their boilers were replaced with oil-fired boilers, their turbines were replaced, and their speed was increased to about 30.5 knots. The armour was increased, with a belt of about 203 millimetres and a deck of about 102 millimetres over vital spaces, and the anti-aircraft armament was increased, with 127 mm guns and 25 mm guns. The ships were reclassified as battleships, although they were still faster and more lightly armoured than the newer Japanese battleships, and they were used as fast battleships, carrier escorts, and shore bombardment ships throughout the Pacific War.

3. Design

A Fast Battleship

The Kongo class, after modernisation, was 222 metres long, 31 metres wide, and about 31,720 tons standard displacement, rising to about 36,000 tons at full load. Her eight boilers fed four turbine sets, producing about 136,000 shaft horsepower, which gave her a speed of about 30.5 knots, faster than any other Japanese battleship, and fast enough to keep up with the carriers. Her range was about 10,000 nautical miles at 14 knots, enough to cross the Pacific, although in practice the ships depended on oilers for sustained operations. Her main armament was eight 356 mm (14-inch) guns in four twin turrets, two forward and two aft, with a range of about 35 kilometres, and her secondary armament was 14 152 mm guns in casemates, for use against cruisers and destroyers. Her anti-aircraft armament, which was increased during the war, consisted of 127 mm guns and 25 mm guns, although it was never as effective as the American anti-aircraft armament.

Armour and the Pagoda Mast

The Kongo class’s armour, after modernisation, included a belt of about 203 millimetres over the machinery and magazines, a deck of about 102 millimetres over vital spaces, and turret armour of about 229 millimetres on the faces. The armour was thinner than that of the newer Japanese battleships, such as the Yamato class, but it was adequate for a fast battleship that was not expected to fight other battleships at close range. The ships were famous for their pagoda masts, tall, multi-level structures that carried the bridge, the fire control, and the lookouts, and that gave the ships a distinctive silhouette. The pagoda mast was a Japanese design, intended to give the bridge a good view and to house the fire control equipment, but it was top-heavy and made the ships unstable in heavy weather. The mast was a symbol of the Japanese navy, and it appears in every photograph of the Kongo class.

4. Technical Specifications

Hull and Machinery

The Kongo class, after modernisation, measured 222 metres in length, 31 metres in beam, and about 9.7 metres in draught at full load. Her standard displacement was about 31,720 tons, and her full-load displacement was about 36,000 to 38,000 tons, depending on the ship and the date, because the ships were modified during the war. Her eight boilers fed four turbine sets driving four shafts, and her designed speed was about 30.5 knots. Her complement was about 1,360 officers and men, including the captain, officers, petty officers, and ratings. Her armour included a belt of about 203 millimetres, a deck of about 102 millimetres, and turret armour of about 229 millimetres. Her fuel capacity was about 6,400 tons of oil, and her range was about 10,000 nautical miles at 14 knots. The figures vary between the four ships, because they were modernised at different times and to slightly different standards.

Fire Control and Aircraft

The Kongo class carried three floatplanes, launched from a catapult on the stern, which were used for scouting and for spotting the fall of shot. The aircraft were the Nakajima E8N and later the Mitsubishi F1M, small biplanes that could land on the water and be recovered by crane. The ships’ fire control was by optical rangefinders, with a main rangefinder on the pagoda mast, and by a fire control computer, which calculated the firing solution from the range and bearing. The fire control was good by the standards of the 1930s, but it was inferior to the radar fire control that the American navy introduced during the war, and it was a disadvantage in night actions, such as the battles off Guadalcanal, where the American ships used radar to find and hit the Japanese ships before they could see them. The Kongo class’s guns, although powerful, were not as accurate as the American guns at night, and the ships suffered for it.

5. Armament

Main and Secondary Guns

The Kongo class’s main armament was eight 356 mm (14-inch) guns in four twin turrets, two forward and two aft. The guns fired a shell of about 670 kilograms, with a range of about 35 kilometres, and they were the main weapon of the ship, intended for use against battleships and cruisers, and for shore bombardment. The guns were accurate and reliable, and they were used to good effect at Guadalcanal, where Hiei and Kirishima bombarded the American airfield at Henderson Field, and at other actions. The secondary armament was 14 152 mm (6-inch) guns in casemates, for use against cruisers and destroyers, although the guns were in casemates low in the hull, and they were often awash in heavy weather. The ships also carried torpedo tubes, although they were removed during modernisation, because the navy concluded that a battleship should not carry torpedoes.

Anti-Aircraft Guns

For air defence, the Kongo class carried eight 127 mm dual-purpose guns in four twin mounts, which could engage both surface targets and aircraft, and 20 25 mm anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts, which were later increased to more than 100 guns in single, twin, and triple mounts. The anti-aircraft armament was increased during the war, as the threat from aircraft grew, but it was never as effective as the American anti-aircraft armament, which used radar fire control and the proximity fuse. The 25 mm gun, which was the standard Japanese light anti-aircraft weapon, was disappointing in service, with a short range, a low rate of fire, and a slow training speed, and it could not stop the American dive bombers and torpedo bombers that sank the Kongo-class ships. The ships’ anti-aircraft guns were a last line of defence, and they were not enough to save the ships from air attack.

6. Service History

Pearl Harbor and the Early War

The Kongo class took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, escorting the carriers of the Kido Butai, and in the months that followed, the ships escorted carriers in the Indian Ocean raid, at Midway, and in the Solomons. The ships were used as carrier escorts, because their speed let them keep up with the carriers, and as shore bombardment ships, because their 14-inch guns could shell airfields and troop concentrations. In October 1942, Kongo and Haruna bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, in a night action that damaged the airfield and destroyed many American aircraft, and the bombardment was the most successful Japanese shore bombardment of the war. The ships were also used as fast battleships, in the fleet actions off Guadalcanal, where Hiei and Kirishima were lost, and in the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, where Kongo and Haruna were lost.

Guadalcanal and the Loss of Two Ships

The Kongo class suffered its heaviest losses at Guadalcanal, in November 1942, in two night battles off the island. On 13 November 1942, Hiei was sunk by American cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft, after being crippled by gunfire from the cruiser San Francisco and other ships, and abandoned by her crew. On 15 November 1942, Kirishima was sunk by the American battleship Washington, in a night action in which the American ship’s radar fire control let her hit Kirishima at long range, in the dark, before Kirishima could see her. The loss of two of the four ships in two days was a heavy blow to the Japanese navy, and it marked the end of the period in which Japanese battleships could operate at night with impunity. The remaining ships, Kongo and Haruna, continued to serve, but they were never again used in a night battleship action, and they were used as carrier escorts and as shore bombardment ships.

7. Notable Actions

The Bombardment of Henderson Field

On the night of 13-14 October 1942, Kongo and Haruna, escorted by cruisers and destroyers, bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, the American airfield that was the key to the island. The ships fired more than 900 14-inch shells at the airfield, destroying many American aircraft, damaging the runways, and killing 41 Americans. The bombardment was the most successful Japanese shore bombardment of the war, and it nearly closed the airfield, although the Americans repaired it within a day. The action showed the power of the Kongo class as a shore bombardment ship, and it showed the value of the fast battleship, which could steam to Guadalcanal, bombard the airfield, and withdraw before dawn, out of range of American aircraft. The bombardment was a tactical success, but it did not change the outcome of the Guadalcanal campaign, which was decided by the American ability to reinforce the island and to replace its losses.

The Sinking of Kirishima by Washington

The sinking of Kirishima by the American battleship Washington, on the night of 14-15 November 1942, was the last battleship-versus-battleship action of the Pacific War, and it showed the superiority of American radar fire control. Kirishima, with the battleship Hiei already lost, was escorting a convoy to Guadalcanal, when she was intercepted by the American battleships Washington and South Dakota. The American ships, using radar, found Kirishima in the dark, and Washington, which had not been damaged, fired 75 16-inch shells at Kirishima at a range of about 8,000 metres, hitting her repeatedly and setting her ablaze. Kirishima sank at about 03:25, with the loss of about 212 of her crew. The action was a decisive American victory, and it ended the Japanese attempt to reinforce Guadalcanal by sea. The sinking of Kirishima showed that the age of the battleship was over, and that radar, not armour, was the decisive factor in naval warfare.

8. Fate

Hiei and Kirishima at Guadalcanal

Hiei was sunk on 13 November 1942, after being crippled by gunfire from American cruisers and destroyers in the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, and abandoned by her crew after being attacked by American aircraft. Kirishima was sunk on 15 November 1942, by the American battleship Washington, in the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, after being hit by 16-inch shells at close range. The two ships were lost within two days, and their loss was a heavy blow to the Japanese navy, which had lost half its fast battleships in a single campaign. The wrecks of Hiei and Kirishima lie off Guadalcanal, in Ironbottom Sound, where they were found by surveys in the 1990s and 2000s. The ships are war graves, and they are remembered as the first Japanese battleships to be lost in the Pacific War.

Kongo and Haruna

Kongo was sunk on 21 November 1944, by the American submarine USS Sealion, while sailing from Brunei to Japan. The submarine fired six torpedoes, two of which hit Kongo, flooding her boiler rooms and magazines, and the ship sank at about 05:24, with the loss of about 1,200 of her crew, including Vice Admiral Yoshio Suzuki, the commander of the Third Fleet. Kongo was the only Japanese battleship to be sunk by a submarine, and her loss was a shock to the Japanese navy, which had believed its battleships were safe from submarines. Haruna, the last surviving ship of the class, was sunk at anchor at Kure on 28 July 1945, by American carrier aircraft, during the attacks on the Japanese home islands. The ship was hit by nine bombs, settled on the harbour bottom, and was abandoned, although she was later raised and scrapped. Haruna’s loss marked the end of the Kongo class, and of the Japanese battleship force.

9. Legacy

The Fast Battleship

The Kongo class was the first fast battleship in the Japanese navy, and it set the pattern for the fast battleships that followed, in Japan and in other navies. The ships showed that a battleship could be fast enough to keep up with carriers, and that it could be used as a carrier escort, a shore bombardment ship, and a fast battleship, in a way that the slower battleships could not. The class also showed the limits of the fast battleship: it was too lightly armoured to fight other battleships, and it was vulnerable to aircraft and submarines, and it was lost in large numbers. The American navy, which built the Iowa class of fast battleships during the war, learned from the Kongo class, and built ships that were faster, better armoured, and better protected against aircraft. The Kongo class’s legacy is in the fast battleship, which became the standard battleship of the Second World War, and in the pagoda mast, which became the symbol of the Japanese navy.

Memory and the Four Ships

The Kongo class is remembered in Japan as the four ships that carried the navy from the age of the battlecruiser to the age of the carrier, and that died with it. The ships are remembered in histories of Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, and Leyte Gulf, and their loss, all four ships in less than three years, is often used to illustrate the speed with which naval power could be destroyed in the Pacific War. The ships’ names, Kongo, Hiei, Kirishima, and Haruna, are the names of mountains in Japan, and they are remembered as the mountains that fell. For historians, the Kongo class stands as an example of a ship that was superbly effective as a fast battleship and fatally vulnerable once its air cover was gone, a balance that defined naval warfare for the rest of the Second World War.

10. Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Kongo class?

The Kongo class was a class of four Japanese fast battleships, Kongo, Hiei, Kirishima and Haruna, built as battlecruisers before the First World War. The ships were modernised in the 1930s into fast battleships, and they became the fastest capital ships in the Japanese navy, capable of about 30 knots. They were used as carrier escorts, shore bombardment ships and fast battleships throughout the Pacific War, and they fought at Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. All four ships were lost, and the class carried the Japanese navy from the age of the battlecruiser to the age of the carrier, and died with it.

How fast was the Kongo class?

After modernisation, the Kongo class could make about 30.5 knots, faster than any other Japanese battleship. That speed was fast enough to keep up with the aircraft carriers, and the ships were used as carrier escorts throughout the Pacific War. The ships were 222 metres long, displaced about 31,720 tons standard after modernisation, and carried eight 356 mm guns as their main armament. They were built as battlecruisers before the First World War, modernised in the 1930s, and they were the fastest capital ships in the Japanese navy.

How were the Kongo-class ships lost?

Hiei and Kirishima were sunk at Guadalcanal in November 1942, in the fighting around the island that cost Japan two of its fast battleships. Kongo was sunk by the submarine USS Sealion in November 1944, and Haruna was sunk at anchor at Kure in July 1945. All four ships of the class were lost, and the Kongo class was the only class of Japanese battleships in which all four ships were lost. Haruna survived longest, until 28 July 1945, when she was sunk at anchor at Kure by American carrier aircraft, and she was the last surviving ship of the class.

What was the pagoda mast?

The pagoda mast was a tall, multi-level structure that carried the bridge, the fire control and the lookouts on Japanese battleships. It gave the Kongo class a distinctive silhouette, and it was one of the most recognisable features of the four fast battleships. The four ships, Kongo, Hiei, Kirishima and Haruna, were built as battlecruisers before the First World War and modernised in the 1930s into fast battleships. They were the fastest capital ships in the Japanese navy, capable of about 30 knots, and they were used as carrier escorts and shore bombardment ships.

What was the bombardment of Henderson Field?

On the night of 13-14 October 1942, Kongo and Haruna bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, firing more than 900 14-inch shells. The bombardment destroyed many American aircraft, and it was the most successful Japanese shore bombardment of the war. Hiei and Kirishima were sunk at Guadalcanal in November 1942, a month after the bombardment, in the fighting that cost Japan two fast battleships. The Kongo class fought at Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, and all four ships were lost in the war.

Which Kongo-class ship survived longest?

Haruna survived longest, until 28 July 1945, when she was sunk at anchor at Kure by American carrier aircraft. She was the last surviving ship of the class, and her loss completed the destruction of the four fast battleships. Hiei and Kirishima were sunk at Guadalcanal in November 1942, and Kongo was sunk by the submarine USS Sealion in November 1944. The four ships were built as battlecruisers before the First World War, modernised in the 1930s, and they carried the Japanese navy from the age of the battlecruiser to the age of the carrier.

11. Sources

1. Wikipedia, “Kongo-class battlecruiser” — construction, modernisation, specifications, and service.
2. Hansgeorg Jentschura, Dieter Jung, and Peter Mickel, “Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945” (Naval Institute Press, 1977) — specifications and construction data.
3. Mark Stille, “Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45” (Osprey, 2008) — design, service, and loss.
4. Samuel Eliot Morison, “History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. V: The Struggle for Guadalcanal” (Little, Brown, 1949) — Guadalcanal and the loss of Hiei and Kirishima.
5. Combinedfleet.com, “Kongo” tabular records of movement — service history and movements.
6. Paul S. Dull, “A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1941-1945)” (Naval Institute Press, 1978) — operations and strategy.