Japanese battleship Kongo
Encyclopedia
Kongō (金剛, "indestructible") was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy
during World War I and World War II. 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 World War I.
Kongō underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1929, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship
, strengthening her armor 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 floatplane
s. 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. On the eve of World War II, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore
.
The Kongō fought in a large number of major naval actions of the War in the Pacific
during World War II. 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, Malaysia, and deployed several times in response to American aircraft carrier
air raid
s on Japanese island bases scattered across the Pacific. The Kongō participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
and the Battle of Leyte Gulf
in 1944, engaging and sinking American vessels in the latter. The Kongō was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine while transiting the Formosa Strait on 21 November 1944.
's Kongō-class battlecruisers, which were almost as large, costly and well-armed as battleship
s, but which traded off armored protection for higher speeds. These were designed by the British naval engineer
George Thurston
and were ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of in 1908. These four battlecruisers of the Kongō class were designed to match the naval capabilities of the battlecruisers of the other major naval powers at the time, and they have been called the battlecruiser versions of the British (formerly Turkish
) battleship . Their heavy armament of 14-inch naval guns and their armor protection (which took up about 23.3% of their approximately 30,000-ton displacements in 1913) were greatly superior to those of any other Japanese capital ship
afloat at the time.
The keel
of the Kongō was laid down at Barrow-in-Furness
by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering on 17 January 1911. Under Japan's contract with Vickers, the first vessel of the class was constructed in the United Kingdom
, with the remainder built in Japan. the Kongō was launched on 18 May 1912, and then transferred to the dockyards of Portsmouth, England, where her fitting-out
began in mid-1912. All parts used in her construction were manufactured in the U.K. The Kongo was completed on 16 April 1913.
s (two forward and two aft). The turrets were noted by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence to be "similar to the British 15-inch turrets", with improvements made in flash-tightness. Each of her main guns could fire high explosive or armor-piercing shells 38770 yd (19.1 nmi; 35.5 km) at a firing rate of about two shells per minute. In keeping with the Japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels before their opponents, the Kongō and her sister ships were the first vessels in the world equipped with 14 inches (35.6 cm) guns. Her main guns carried ammunition for 90 shots, and they had an approximate barrel lifetime of 250 to 280 shots. In 1941, separate dyes were introduced for the armor-piercing shells of the four Kongo-class battleships to assist with targeting, with the Kongō armor-piercing shells using red dye.
The secondary battery of the Kongo originally consisted of sixteen 6 inches (15.2 cm) 50-caliber
machine gun
s in single casemate
s (all located amidships), eight 3 inches (7.6 cm) guns, and eight submerged 21 inches (53.3 cm) torpedo tubes. ("50 calibre" means that the lengths of the guns were to times their bore, or 700 inches.) Her six-inch naval guns could fire five to six rounds per minute, with a barrel lifetime of about 500 rounds. The 6-inch/50 calibre gun was capable of firing both antiaircraft and antiship shells, though the positioning of these guns on the Kongō made antiaircraft firing mostly impractical. During her second reconstruction, the older three-inch guns were removed and then replaced with eight 5 inches (12.7 cm) 5-inch/40 calibre dual-purpose guns. These guns could fire from eight to 14 rounds per minute, with a barrel lifetime of about 800 to 1,500 rounds. Of Kongō guns, the 5-inch guns had the widest variety of shell types: antiaircraft, antiship, and illumination shells. The Kongō was also armed with a large number of 1 inches (2.5 cm) antiaircraft machine guns. By October 1944, the Kongō secondary armament was reconfigured contain to eight 6 inches (15.2 cm) guns, eight 5 inches (12.7 cm) guns, and 122 Type 96 antiaircraft rapid-fire cannons
.
On 16 August 1913, the Kongō was completed and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy (I.J.N.). Twelve days later, she departed from Portsmouth headed for Japan. She was docked at Singapore
from 20 October to the 27th, before arriving at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
on 5 November, where she was placed in First Reserve. In January 1914, she docked at Kure Naval Base for armament checks. On 3 August 1914, the German Empire
declared war on France
and then invaded via Belgium
, sparking the beginning of World War I
in the West. Twelve days later, Japan issued a warning to Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire
, ordering him to withdraw the German troops from their base at Tsingtao, China
. When the German Empire did not respond, Japan declared war on the Germany on 23 August, occupying the former German possessions in the Caroline Islands
, Palau Islands, Marshall Islands
, and Marianas Islands. The Kongō was quickly deployed towards the Central Pacific
to patrol the sea lines of communication of the German Empire. The Kongō returned to the port of Yokosuka, Japan, on 12 September, and one month later, she was assigned to the First Battleship Division. In October, the Kongō and her new sister ship sortied off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese army units during the Siege of Tsingtao. Then the Kongō returned to Sasebo Naval Base
for upgrades to her searchlights. On 3 October 1915, the Kongō and the Hiei participated in the sinking of the old as a practice target. She was a Russian pre-dreadnought
that had been captured in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War
that had next served as an I.J.N. warship
. With the defeat of the German East Asia Squadron
by the Royal Navy
at the Battle of the Falkland Islands
in December 1914, there was little or no need for I.J.N. operations in the Pacific Ocean
. The Kongō spent the rest of World War I either based at Sasebo, or on patrol off the coast of China. In December 1918, following the end of the hostilities of World War I, the Kongō was placed in "Second Reserve". In April 1919, she was fitted with a new seawater flooding system for her ammunition magazines.
With the conclusion of World War I, and the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty
on 6 February 1922, the size of the I.J.N. was significantly limited, with a ratio of 5:5:3 required between the capital ships of the United Kingdom
, the United States
, and the Japanese Empire, since the latter was only responsible for one ocean, rather than the two of the other country, and fewer warships for France and Italy
. This Treaty also banned the signatories from building any new capital ships until 1931, with no capital ship permitted to exceed 35000 long tons (35,561.8 t) in displacement
. Provided that new additions did not exceed 3,000 tons of displacement, the existing capital ships were allowed to be upgraded with improved anti-torpedo bulge
s and armored main decks. By the time that the Washington Naval Treaty had been fully implemented in Japan, only three classes of World War I type capital ships remained active: the s, the Kongō-class battlecruisers, and the s.
In April 1923, the Kongō gave transportation to Emperor Hirohito during his official visit to the Japanese possession of Formosa (now Taiwan
) off the coast of China. In November 1924, the Kongo docked at Yokosuka, where modifications were made to her main armament, increasing the elevation of her main guns and improving her fire-control systems. In 1927, the Kongō underwent major modifications to her superstructure, rebuilding it into the pagoda mast
style to accommodate the growing number of fire-control systems for her main guns. In May 1928, her steering equipment was upgraded, before she was placed in reserve in preparation for major modifications and reconstruction in 1929–31.
Prohibited by the Washington Treaty from constructing new capital ships until 1931, Japan resorted to upgrading older battleships and battlecruisers. Beginning in September 1929, the Kongō underwent extensive modernization and modification in drydock at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. Over the next two years, the Kongō horizontal armor near her ammunition magazines was strengthened, and the machinery spaces within the hull were given increased torpedo protection. Anti-torpedo bulges were added along the waterline, as permitted by the Washington Treaty. She was refitted to accommodate three Type 90 Model 0 floatplanes, though no aircraft catapult
s were fitted. To increase her speed and power, all 36 of her Yarrow boilers were removed, and then replaced with 16 newer boilers, and Brown-Curtis direct-drive turbines were installed. The Kongō forward funnel was removed, and her second funnel was enlarged and lengthened. The modifications to her hull increased her armor weight from 6,502 to 10,313 long ton
s, directly violating the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. In March 1931, the Kongō -- now capable of a speed of 29 knots (56.8 km/h) -- was reclassified as a battleship.
On 22 April 1930, Japan signed the London Naval Treaty
, placing further restrictions on the signatories' naval forces. Several of her older battleships were scrapped, and no new capital ships were built as replacements. After minor fitting-out work, the Kongō reconstruction begun in September 1929 and was declared complete on 31 March 1931. On 1 December 1931, two months after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Kongō was assigned to the First Battleship Division and also designated the flagship of the Combined Fleet. Additional rangefinders and searchlights were fitted to her superstructure in January 1932, and Captain Nobutake Kondō assumed command of the vessel in December. In 1933, aircraft catapults were fitted between the two rear turrets.
On 25 February 1933, following a report by the Lytton Commission, the League of Nations
agreed that Japan's invasion of China had violated Chinese sovereignty. Refusing to accept the judgement of this organization, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations on the same day. Japan also immediately withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty
, thus removing all restrictions on the numbers and sizes of her capital warships. In November 1934, the Kongō was placed in Second Reserve in preparation for further modifications. On 10 January 1935, the Kongō was toured by the Nazi German naval attaché to Japan, Captain Paul Wenneker, as part of a gunnery demonstration.
s. Her stern was lengthened by 26 feet (7.9 m) to improve her fineness ratio
and her 16 older boilers were removed and then replaced with 11 oil-fired Kampon Boilers and newer geared turbines. In addition, her bridge was completely reconstructed according to Japan's pagoda mast
style of forward superstructure, and catapult
s were added to support three Nakajima E8N
or Kawanishi E7K
reconnaissance and spotter floatplanes.
The Kongō armor was also extensively upgraded. Her main belt was strengthened to a uniform thickness of eight inches (up from varying thicknesses of six to eight inches), and also diagonal bulkheads of depths ranging from 5 to 8 in (127 to 203.2 mm) were added to reinforce the main armored belt. The turret armor was strengthened to 10 inches (254 mm), while 4 inches (102 mm) were added to portions of the deck armor. The Kongō ammunition magazine protection was also strengthened to 4 inches (10.2 cm). This reconstruction was finished on 8 January 1937. Capable of greater than 30 knots, despite the significant increase in her hull displacement, the Kongō was now reclassified as a fast battleship.
In February 1937, the Kongo was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District
, and in December she was placed under the command of Takeo Kurita
in the Third Battleship Division. In April 1938, two float planes from the Kongō bombed the Chinese town of Foochow during the Second Sino-Japanese War
. Throughout 1938 and 1939, the Kongō steamed off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese Army operations during the war. In November 1939, Captain Raizo Tanaka
assumed command of the Kongō. From November 1940 to April 1941, additional armor was added to the Kongō armament barbettes and ammunition
tubes, while ventilation and firefighting equipment was also improved. In August 1941, she was assigned to the Third Battleship Division under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
alongside her fully modified sister warsips the Hiei, and the .
fleet anchorage on 29 November 1941 to begin the War in the Pacific
as part of the Southern (Malay) Force's Main Body, under the overall command of Vice-Admiral Nobutake Kondō. On 4 December 1941, the Main Body arrived off the coast of southern Thailand
and northern Malaya in preparation for the invasion of Thailand and the Malayan Peninsula
four days later. When Britain's "Force Z" -- consisting of the battleship and the battlecruiser -- was quickly defeated
by Japan's land-based aircraft from southern Vietnam
, the Kongō battlegroup withdrew from Malayan waters. This battlegroup subsequently sortied from Indochina
for three days in mid-December to protect a reinforcement convoy traveling to Malaya, and again on 18 December to cover the Japanese Army's landing at Lingayen Gulf
, Luzon
, in the Philippines
. The Main Body departed Camranh Bay in French Indochina
on 23 December bound for Taiwan, arriving two days later. In January 1942, the Kongō and the heavy cruiser
s and provided distant cover for air attacks on Ambon Island
.
On 21 February, the Kongō was joined by the Haruna, four fast aircraft carrier
s, five heavy cruiser
s and numerous support ships in preparation for "Operation J", Japan's invasion of the Dutch East Indies
. On 25 February, the Third Battleship Division provided cover for air attacks on the Island of Java. The Kongō bombarded Christmas Island
off the western coast of Australia
on 7 March 1942, and then she returned to Staring-baai
for 15 days of standby alert. In April 1942, the Kongō joined five fleet carriers in attacks
on Colombo
and Trincomalee
on Ceylon. Following the destruction of the British heavy cruisers and HMS Cornwall
, and the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes
on 5 April 1942, this naval task force moved southwest to locate the remainder of the British Eastern Fleet
, then under the command of Admiral James Somerville. On 9 April, one of Haruna reconnaissance seaplanes spotted the south of Trincomalee
. On the same day, Japanese air attacks sank the carrier, and the Kongō was attacked but missed by nine British medium bomber
s. Having crippled the offensive capability of Britain's Eastern Fleet, the Third Battleship Division returned to Japan. The Kongō reached Sasebo on 22 April. From 23 April to 2 May, the Kongō was drydocked for reconfiguration of her antiaircraft armament.
On 27 May 1942, the Kongō sortied with the Hiei and the heavy cruiser
s , , , and as part of Admiral Nobutake Kondō's invasion force during the Battle of Midway
. Following the disastrous loss of four of the Combined Fleet's fast carriers on 4 June 1942, Kondō's force withdrew to Japan. On 14 July she was assigned as the flagship of the restructured Third Battleship Division. In August, the Kongo was drydocked at Kure to receive surface-detection radar and additional range finders. In September, the Kongō embarked with the Hiei, the Haruna, the Kirishima, three carriers, and numerous smaller warships in response to the U.S. Marine Corps's amphibious landing on Guadalcanal
in the Solomon Islands
. On 20 September, this task force was ordered to return to the Truk Naval Base
in the Central Pacific
north of the equator
.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Cape Esperance
, the Japanese Army opted to reinforce its troops on Guadalcanal
. To protect their transport convoy from enemy air attack, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
sent the Haruna and the Kongō, escorted by one light cruiser
and nine destroyer
s, to bombard the American air base as Henderson Field
. Because of their high speeds, these two battleships could bombard the airfield and then withdraw before being subjected to air attack from either land-based warplanes or American aircraft carriers. On the night of 13 – 14 October, these two battleships shelled the area of Henderson Field from a distance of about 16000 yards (14,630.4 m), firing 973 14-inch high-explosive shells. In the most successful Japanese battleship action of the war, the bombardment heavily damaged both runways, destroyed almost all of the U.S. Marines aviation fuel, destroyed or damaged 48 of the Marines' 90 warplanes, and killed 41 Marines. A large Japanese troop and supply convoy reached Guadalcanal on the next day.
During the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
on 26 October 1942, the Kongō was attacked by four TBF Avenger
torpedo bombers, but she received no hits. In mid-November, this battleship and other warships provided distant cover for the unsuccessful mission by the I.J.N. to bombard Henderson Field again and to deliver more Army reinforcements to Guadalcanal. On 15 November 1942, following the Japanese defeat and the sinking of the Hiei and Kirishima during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
, the Third Battleship Division returned to Truk, where it remained for the rest of 1942.
Throughout 1943, the Kongō engaged no enemy targets. In late January 1943, she participated in "Operation Ke
" as part of a diversionary and distant covering force to support I.J.N. destroyer
s that were evacuating Army troops from Guadalcanal. During the 15th through 20 February 1943, the Third Battleship Division was transferred from Truk to the Kure Naval Base. On 27 February, the Kongo was drydocked to receive upgrades to her antiaircraft armament, with the additions of two triple 25-mm gun mounts and the removal of two of her 6-inch turrets, while additional concrete protection was added near her steering gear. On 17 May 1943, in response to the U.S. Armys invasion of Attu Island
, the Kongō sortied alongside , the Third Battleship Division, two fleet carriers, two cruiser
s, and nine destroyers. Three days later, the American submarine spotted this naval task force
, but she was unable to attack it. On 22 May 1943, the task force arrived in Yokosuka, where it was joined by an additional three fleet carriers and two light cruiser
s. This force was disbanded when Attu fell to the U.S. Army before the necessary preparations for a counterattack had beene finished.
On 17 October 1943, the Kongō again left Truk as part of a larger task force
consisting of five battleships, three fleet carriers, eight heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and numerous destroyers. These sortied in response to U.S. Navy air raid
s on Wake Island
. No contact between the two forces was made, and the Japanese task force returned to Truk on 26 October 1943. She soon left Truk for home waters, and on 16 December 1943, the Kongō arrived at Sasebo for refits and training in the Inland Sea.
In January 1944, Kongō was dry-docked for a reconfiguration of her anti-aircraft suite. Four 6-inch guns and a pair of twin 25-mm mounts were removed and replaced with four 5-inch guns and four triple 25-mm mounts. The Third Battleship Division departed Kure on 8 March 1944. Arriving at Lingga on 14 March 1944, the division remained for training until 11 May 1944. On 11 May 1944, Kongō and Admiral Ozawa's Mobile Fleet departed Lingga for Tawitawi, where they were joined by Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita
's "Force C". On 13 June, Ozawa's Mobile Fleet departed Tawitawi for the Mariana Islands
. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea
, Kongō escorted Japanese fast carriers, and remained undamaged in counterattacks from US carrier aircraft on 20 June. When she returned to Japan, 13 triple and 40 single 25-mm mounts were added to her anti-aircraft armament, for a total of over 100 mounts. In August, two more 6-inch guns were removed and another eighteen single mounts installed.
In October 1944, Kongō departed Lingga in preparation for "Operation Sho-1", Japan's counterattack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
, the largest naval engagement in history. On 24 October, Kongō was undamaged by several near misses from American carrier aircraft in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. On 25 October, during the Battle off Samar
, Kongō—as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force—engaged the US 7th Fleet's "Taffy 3", a battlegroup of escort carriers and destroyers. She succeeded in scoring numerous hits on the escort carrier as well as the destroyers and . At 09:12, she sank the destroyer escort . After a fierce defensive action by the American ships, which sank three Japanese heavy cruisers, Admiral Kurita elected to withdraw, ending the battle. While retreating, Kongō suffered damage from five near misses from attacking aircraft. The fleet arrived at Brunei
on 28 October.
On 16 November, following a US air raid on Brunei, Kongō departed Brunei alongside , and the rest of the First Fleet for Kure, in preparation for a major reorganization of the fleet and battle repairs. On 20 November, they entered the Formosa Strait. Shortly after midnight on 21 November, the submarine made radar contact with the fleet at 44,000 yards. Maneuvering into position at 03:00, Sealion II fired three stern torpedoes at Nagato and Kongō. One minute later, two torpedoes were seen to hit Kongō on the port side, while the third sank the destroyer with all hands. The torpedoes flooded two of Kongō boiler rooms, but she was still able to make 16 knots (19.5 mph). By 05:00, she had slowed to 11 kn (13.4 mph) and broken off from the rest of the fleet. At 05:20, she lost all power. Four minutes later, the blip indicating Kongō on Sealion II radar disappeared. Kongō sank in 350 feet (106.7 m) of water with the loss of 1,200 of her crew, including the commander of the Third Battleship Division and her captain. She was the only Japanese battleship sunk by submarine in the Second World War, and the last battleship sunk by submarine in history.
Her sinking was only one out of three battleships sinkings in World War II caused by a submarine attack, the two others were the British Revenge class battleship
and the Queen Elizabeth class battleship
.
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
during World War I and World War II. She was the first battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
of the Kongō class
Kongo class battlecruiser
The were a class of ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed immediately before World War I. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, the lead ship of the class was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside of Japan. Displacing upon completion, the vessels of this...
, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Her designer was the British naval engineer George Thurston
George Thurston
Sir George Thurston KBE was a leading British naval architect in the early half of the 20th century.-Life and career:...
, and she was laid down in 1911 at Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
in Britain by Vickers Shipbuilding Company. Kongō was the last Japanese capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
constructed outside Japan. She was formally commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
in 1913, and patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I.
Kongō underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1929, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, strengthening her armor 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
Aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
for floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
s. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, Kongō was reclassified as a fast battleship
Fast battleship
Historically, a fast battleship was a battleship which emphasized speed without - in concept - undo compromise of either armor or armament. The term is especially appropriate when applied to a design which was not only faster than the preceding battleship class, but faster than subsequent classes...
. During the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, Kongō operated off the coast of mainland China before being redeployed to the Third Battleship Division in 1941. On the eve of World War II, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
.
The Kongō fought in a large number of major naval actions of the War in the Pacific
War In The Pacific
War in the Pacific is a 2004 two-player turn-based computer war game published by Matrix games. It is a very large, complex, and detailed simulation of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, at both the operational and strategic level....
during World War II. She covered the Japanese Army's amphibious landings
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
in British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
(part of present-day Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
(now Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) in 1942, before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
and during the Guadalcanal Campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
. Throughout 1943, Kongō primarily remained at Truk Lagoon
Truk Lagoon
Truk Lagoon, also known as Chuuk, is a sheltered body of water in the central Pacific. North of New Guinea, it is located mid-ocean at 7 degrees North latitude. The atoll consists of a protective reef, around, enclosing a natural harbour 79 by 50 kilometres , with an area of . It has a land...
in the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
), Kure Naval Base
Kure Naval District
was the second of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the Inland Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts of southern Honshū from Wakayama to Yamaguchi prefectures, eastern and northern Kyūshū and Shikoku....
(near Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
), Sasebo Naval Base
Sasebo Naval District
was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and the Pacific...
(near Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
), and Lingga, Malaysia, and deployed several times in response to American aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
air raid
Air raid
Air raid refers to an attack by aircraft. See strategic bombing or the smaller-scale airstrike.Air raid may also refer to:*Air Raid , by the improvisational collective Air...
s on Japanese island bases scattered across the Pacific. The Kongō participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
and the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
in 1944, engaging and sinking American vessels in the latter. The Kongō was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine while transiting the Formosa Strait on 21 November 1944.
Design and construction
The Kongō was the first of the Imperial Japanese NavyImperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
's Kongō-class battlecruisers, which were almost as large, costly and well-armed as battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, but which traded off armored protection for higher speeds. These were designed by the British naval engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
George Thurston
George Thurston
Sir George Thurston KBE was a leading British naval architect in the early half of the 20th century.-Life and career:...
and were ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of in 1908. These four battlecruisers of the Kongō class were designed to match the naval capabilities of the battlecruisers of the other major naval powers at the time, and they have been called the battlecruiser versions of the British (formerly Turkish
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...
) battleship . Their heavy armament of 14-inch naval guns and their armor protection (which took up about 23.3% of their approximately 30,000-ton displacements in 1913) were greatly superior to those of any other Japanese capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
afloat at the time.
The keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
of the Kongō was laid down at Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering on 17 January 1911. Under Japan's contract with Vickers, the first vessel of the class was constructed in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, with the remainder built in Japan. the Kongō was launched on 18 May 1912, and then transferred to the dockyards of Portsmouth, England, where her fitting-out
Fitting-out
Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...
began in mid-1912. All parts used in her construction were manufactured in the U.K. The Kongo was completed on 16 April 1913.
Armament
The Kongō main battery consisted of eight 14 inches (35.6 cm) heavy-caliber main naval guns in four twin turretTurret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s (two forward and two aft). The turrets were noted by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence to be "similar to the British 15-inch turrets", with improvements made in flash-tightness. Each of her main guns could fire high explosive or armor-piercing shells 38770 yd (19.1 nmi; 35.5 km) at a firing rate of about two shells per minute. In keeping with the Japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels before their opponents, the Kongō and her sister ships were the first vessels in the world equipped with 14 inches (35.6 cm) guns. Her main guns carried ammunition for 90 shots, and they had an approximate barrel lifetime of 250 to 280 shots. In 1941, separate dyes were introduced for the armor-piercing shells of the four Kongo-class battleships to assist with targeting, with the Kongō armor-piercing shells using red dye.
The secondary battery of the Kongo originally consisted of sixteen 6 inches (15.2 cm) 50-caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s in single casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s (all located amidships), eight 3 inches (7.6 cm) guns, and eight submerged 21 inches (53.3 cm) torpedo tubes. ("50 calibre" means that the lengths of the guns were to times their bore, or 700 inches.) Her six-inch naval guns could fire five to six rounds per minute, with a barrel lifetime of about 500 rounds. The 6-inch/50 calibre gun was capable of firing both antiaircraft and antiship shells, though the positioning of these guns on the Kongō made antiaircraft firing mostly impractical. During her second reconstruction, the older three-inch guns were removed and then replaced with eight 5 inches (12.7 cm) 5-inch/40 calibre dual-purpose guns. These guns could fire from eight to 14 rounds per minute, with a barrel lifetime of about 800 to 1,500 rounds. Of Kongō guns, the 5-inch guns had the widest variety of shell types: antiaircraft, antiship, and illumination shells. The Kongō was also armed with a large number of 1 inches (2.5 cm) antiaircraft machine guns. By October 1944, the Kongō secondary armament was reconfigured contain to eight 6 inches (15.2 cm) guns, eight 5 inches (12.7 cm) guns, and 122 Type 96 antiaircraft rapid-fire cannons
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
.
1913–1929: Battlecruiser
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
from 20 October to the 27th, before arriving at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal
was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama...
on 5 November, where she was placed in First Reserve. In January 1914, she docked at Kure Naval Base for armament checks. On 3 August 1914, the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
declared war on France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and then invaded via Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, sparking the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in the West. Twelve days later, Japan issued a warning to Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, ordering him to withdraw the German troops from their base at Tsingtao, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. When the German Empire did not respond, Japan declared war on the Germany on 23 August, occupying the former German possessions in the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, Palau Islands, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
, and Marianas Islands. The Kongō was quickly deployed towards the Central Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to patrol the sea lines of communication of the German Empire. The Kongō returned to the port of Yokosuka, Japan, on 12 September, and one month later, she was assigned to the First Battleship Division. In October, the Kongō and her new sister ship sortied off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese army units during the Siege of Tsingtao. Then the Kongō returned to Sasebo Naval Base
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
for upgrades to her searchlights. On 3 October 1915, the Kongō and the Hiei participated in the sinking of the old as a practice target. She was a Russian pre-dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
that had been captured in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
that had next served as an I.J.N. warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
. With the defeat of the German East Asia Squadron
German East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
at the Battle of the Falkland Islands
Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 during the First World War in the South Atlantic...
in December 1914, there was little or no need for I.J.N. operations in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The Kongō spent the rest of World War I either based at Sasebo, or on patrol off the coast of China. In December 1918, following the end of the hostilities of World War I, the Kongō was placed in "Second Reserve". In April 1919, she was fitted with a new seawater flooding system for her ammunition magazines.
With the conclusion of World War I, and the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
on 6 February 1922, the size of the I.J.N. was significantly limited, with a ratio of 5:5:3 required between the capital ships of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the Japanese Empire, since the latter was only responsible for one ocean, rather than the two of the other country, and fewer warships for France and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. This Treaty also banned the signatories from building any new capital ships until 1931, with no capital ship permitted to exceed 35000 long tons (35,561.8 t) in displacement
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
. Provided that new additions did not exceed 3,000 tons of displacement, the existing capital ships were allowed to be upgraded with improved anti-torpedo bulge
Anti-torpedo bulge
The anti-torpedo bulge is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars.-Theory and form:...
s and armored main decks. By the time that the Washington Naval Treaty had been fully implemented in Japan, only three classes of World War I type capital ships remained active: the s, the Kongō-class battlecruisers, and the s.
In April 1923, the Kongō gave transportation to Emperor Hirohito during his official visit to the Japanese possession of Formosa (now Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
) off the coast of China. In November 1924, the Kongo docked at Yokosuka, where modifications were made to her main armament, increasing the elevation of her main guns and improving her fire-control systems. In 1927, the Kongō underwent major modifications to her superstructure, rebuilding it into the pagoda mast
Pagoda Mast
The Pagoda mast was a type of superstructure that was common on Japanese capital ships that were reconstructed during the 1930s in a bid to improve their fighting performance...
style to accommodate the growing number of fire-control systems for her main guns. In May 1928, her steering equipment was upgraded, before she was placed in reserve in preparation for major modifications and reconstruction in 1929–31.
1929–1935: Reconstruction into battleship
Aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
s were fitted. To increase her speed and power, all 36 of her Yarrow boilers were removed, and then replaced with 16 newer boilers, and Brown-Curtis direct-drive turbines were installed. The Kongō forward funnel was removed, and her second funnel was enlarged and lengthened. The modifications to her hull increased her armor weight from 6,502 to 10,313 long ton
Long ton
Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
s, directly violating the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. In March 1931, the Kongō -- now capable of a speed of 29 knots (56.8 km/h) -- was reclassified as a battleship.
On 22 April 1930, Japan signed the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
, placing further restrictions on the signatories' naval forces. Several of her older battleships were scrapped, and no new capital ships were built as replacements. After minor fitting-out work, the Kongō reconstruction begun in September 1929 and was declared complete on 31 March 1931. On 1 December 1931, two months after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Kongō was assigned to the First Battleship Division and also designated the flagship of the Combined Fleet. Additional rangefinders and searchlights were fitted to her superstructure in January 1932, and Captain Nobutake Kondō assumed command of the vessel in December. In 1933, aircraft catapults were fitted between the two rear turrets.
On 25 February 1933, following a report by the Lytton Commission, the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
agreed that Japan's invasion of China had violated Chinese sovereignty. Refusing to accept the judgement of this organization, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations on the same day. Japan also immediately withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
, thus removing all restrictions on the numbers and sizes of her capital warships. In November 1934, the Kongō was placed in Second Reserve in preparation for further modifications. On 10 January 1935, the Kongō was toured by the Nazi German naval attaché to Japan, Captain Paul Wenneker, as part of a gunnery demonstration.
1935–1941: Fast battleship
On 1 June 1935, the Kongō was dry-docked at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in preparation for upgrades that would enable her to escort Japan's growing fleet of aircraft carrierAircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s. Her stern was lengthened by 26 feet (7.9 m) to improve her fineness ratio
Fineness ratio
Fineness ratio is a term used in naval architecture and aerospace engineering to describe the overall shape of a streamlined body. Specifically, it is the ratio of the length of a body to its maximum width; shapes that are "short and fat" have a low fineness ratio, those that are "long and skinny"...
and her 16 older boilers were removed and then replaced with 11 oil-fired Kampon Boilers and newer geared turbines. In addition, her bridge was completely reconstructed according to Japan's pagoda mast
Pagoda Mast
The Pagoda mast was a type of superstructure that was common on Japanese capital ships that were reconstructed during the 1930s in a bid to improve their fighting performance...
style of forward superstructure, and catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
s were added to support three Nakajima E8N
Nakajima E8N
|-See also:-References:*Francillon, R.J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0 370 00033 1....
or Kawanishi E7K
Kawanishi E7K
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., Réne J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-370-30251-6....
reconnaissance and spotter floatplanes.
The Kongō armor was also extensively upgraded. Her main belt was strengthened to a uniform thickness of eight inches (up from varying thicknesses of six to eight inches), and also diagonal bulkheads of depths ranging from 5 to 8 in (127 to 203.2 mm) were added to reinforce the main armored belt. The turret armor was strengthened to 10 inches (254 mm), while 4 inches (102 mm) were added to portions of the deck armor. The Kongō ammunition magazine protection was also strengthened to 4 inches (10.2 cm). This reconstruction was finished on 8 January 1937. Capable of greater than 30 knots, despite the significant increase in her hull displacement, the Kongō was now reclassified as a fast battleship.
In February 1937, the Kongo was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District
Sasebo Naval District
was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and the Pacific...
, and in December she was placed under the command of Takeo Kurita
Takeo Kurita
Vice Admiral was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Early life:Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of...
in the Third Battleship Division. In April 1938, two float planes from the Kongō bombed the Chinese town of Foochow during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. Throughout 1938 and 1939, the Kongō steamed off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese Army operations during the war. In November 1939, Captain Raizo Tanaka
Raizo Tanaka
was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during most of World War II. A specialist in the heavy torpedoes that were carried by all the destroyers and cruisers of the IJN, Tanaka mainly commanded destroyer squadrons, with a cruiser or two attached, and he was the primary leader of the...
assumed command of the Kongō. From November 1940 to April 1941, additional armor was added to the Kongō armament barbettes and ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
tubes, while ventilation and firefighting equipment was also improved. In August 1941, she was assigned to the Third Battleship Division under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
Gunichi Mikawa
was a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that carried out spectacular I.J.N. victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of August 1942. In...
alongside her fully modified sister warsips the Hiei, and the .
1942: Early war service
The Kongō and the Haruna departed from the HashirajimaHashirajima
is an island in southern Hiroshima Bay of the Inland Sea, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Located 26 kilometers southeast of Iwakuni, it is part of the Kutsuna Islands within the Bōyō Islands group....
fleet anchorage on 29 November 1941 to begin the War in the Pacific
War In The Pacific
War in the Pacific is a 2004 two-player turn-based computer war game published by Matrix games. It is a very large, complex, and detailed simulation of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, at both the operational and strategic level....
as part of the Southern (Malay) Force's Main Body, under the overall command of Vice-Admiral Nobutake Kondō. On 4 December 1941, the Main Body arrived off the coast of southern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and northern Malaya in preparation for the invasion of Thailand and the Malayan Peninsula
Battle of Malaya
The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...
four days later. When Britain's "Force Z" -- consisting of the battleship and the battlecruiser -- was quickly defeated
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a Second World War naval engagement that took place north of Singapore, off the east coast of Malaya, near Kuantan, Pahang where the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by land-based bombers and...
by Japan's land-based aircraft from southern Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the Kongō battlegroup withdrew from Malayan waters. This battlegroup subsequently sortied from Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
for three days in mid-December to protect a reinforcement convoy traveling to Malaya, and again on 18 December to cover the Japanese Army's landing at Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
, Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The Main Body departed Camranh Bay in French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
on 23 December bound for Taiwan, arriving two days later. In January 1942, the Kongō and the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s and provided distant cover for air attacks on Ambon Island
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
.
On 21 February, the Kongō was joined by the Haruna, four fast aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s, five heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s and numerous support ships in preparation for "Operation J", Japan's invasion of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. On 25 February, the Third Battleship Division provided cover for air attacks on the Island of Java. The Kongō bombarded Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
off the western coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 7 March 1942, and then she returned to Staring-baai
Staring-baai
Staring-baai is a bay off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It lies slightly southeast of Kendari, the provincial capital of South East Sulawesi, where it opens to the east onto the Banda Sea....
for 15 days of standby alert. In April 1942, the Kongō joined five fleet carriers in attacks
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March-10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II...
on Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
on Ceylon. Following the destruction of the British heavy cruisers and HMS Cornwall
HMS Cornwall
Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Cornwall after the Duchy of Cornwall. Cornwall's motto is unus et omnes ....
, and the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes
Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Hermes, after Hermes, the messenger god of Greek mythology, while another was planned: was a 12-gun brig-sloop, originally the Dutch Mercurius, captured in 1796 by HMS Sylph. She foundered in 1797. was a 22-gun ship purchased in 1798 and sold in 1802....
on 5 April 1942, this naval task force moved southwest to locate the remainder of the British Eastern Fleet
British Eastern Fleet
The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
, then under the command of Admiral James Somerville. On 9 April, one of Haruna reconnaissance seaplanes spotted the south of Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
. On the same day, Japanese air attacks sank the carrier, and the Kongō was attacked but missed by nine British medium bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s. Having crippled the offensive capability of Britain's Eastern Fleet, the Third Battleship Division returned to Japan. The Kongō reached Sasebo on 22 April. From 23 April to 2 May, the Kongō was drydocked for reconfiguration of her antiaircraft armament.
On 27 May 1942, the Kongō sortied with the Hiei and the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s , , , and as part of Admiral Nobutake Kondō's invasion force during the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
. Following the disastrous loss of four of the Combined Fleet's fast carriers on 4 June 1942, Kondō's force withdrew to Japan. On 14 July she was assigned as the flagship of the restructured Third Battleship Division. In August, the Kongo was drydocked at Kure to receive surface-detection radar and additional range finders. In September, the Kongō embarked with the Hiei, the Haruna, the Kirishima, three carriers, and numerous smaller warships in response to the U.S. Marine Corps's amphibious landing on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. On 20 September, this task force was ordered to return to the Truk Naval Base
Truk Lagoon
Truk Lagoon, also known as Chuuk, is a sheltered body of water in the central Pacific. North of New Guinea, it is located mid-ocean at 7 degrees North latitude. The atoll consists of a protective reef, around, enclosing a natural harbour 79 by 50 kilometres , with an area of . It has a land...
in the Central Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
north of the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Cape Esperance
Battle of Cape Esperance
The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy...
, the Japanese Army opted to reinforce its troops on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. To protect their transport convoy from enemy air attack, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of Harvard University ....
sent the Haruna and the Kongō, escorted by one light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
and nine destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, to bombard the American air base as Henderson Field
Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)
Henderson Field is a former military airfield on Guadacanal, Solomon Islands during World War II. Today it is Honiara International Airport.-Japanese construction:...
. Because of their high speeds, these two battleships could bombard the airfield and then withdraw before being subjected to air attack from either land-based warplanes or American aircraft carriers. On the night of 13 – 14 October, these two battleships shelled the area of Henderson Field from a distance of about 16000 yards (14,630.4 m), firing 973 14-inch high-explosive shells. In the most successful Japanese battleship action of the war, the bombardment heavily damaged both runways, destroyed almost all of the U.S. Marines aviation fuel, destroyed or damaged 48 of the Marines' 90 warplanes, and killed 41 Marines. A large Japanese troop and supply convoy reached Guadalcanal on the next day.
During the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
on 26 October 1942, the Kongō was attacked by four TBF Avenger
TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
torpedo bombers, but she received no hits. In mid-November, this battleship and other warships provided distant cover for the unsuccessful mission by the I.J.N. to bombard Henderson Field again and to deliver more Army reinforcements to Guadalcanal. On 15 November 1942, following the Japanese defeat and the sinking of the Hiei and Kirishima during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
, the Third Battleship Division returned to Truk, where it remained for the rest of 1942.
1943: Movement between bases
Operation Ke
was the largely successful withdrawal of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal at the conclusion of the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. The operation took place between 14 January and 7 February 1943, and involved both army and navy forces under the overall direction of the Japanese Imperial...
" as part of a diversionary and distant covering force to support I.J.N. destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s that were evacuating Army troops from Guadalcanal. During the 15th through 20 February 1943, the Third Battleship Division was transferred from Truk to the Kure Naval Base. On 27 February, the Kongo was drydocked to receive upgrades to her antiaircraft armament, with the additions of two triple 25-mm gun mounts and the removal of two of her 6-inch turrets, while additional concrete protection was added near her steering gear. On 17 May 1943, in response to the U.S. Armys invasion of Attu Island
Battle of Attu
The Battle of Attu, which took place from 11-30 May 1943, was fought entirely between forces of the United States and the Empire of Japan on Attu Island off the coast of Alaska. The action, which was part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign during the Pacific War, was the only land battle of World War...
, the Kongō sortied alongside , the Third Battleship Division, two fleet carriers, two cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s, and nine destroyers. Three days later, the American submarine spotted this naval task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
, but she was unable to attack it. On 22 May 1943, the task force arrived in Yokosuka, where it was joined by an additional three fleet carriers and two light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s. This force was disbanded when Attu fell to the U.S. Army before the necessary preparations for a counterattack had beene finished.
On 17 October 1943, the Kongō again left Truk as part of a larger task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
consisting of five battleships, three fleet carriers, eight heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and numerous destroyers. These sortied in response to U.S. Navy air raid
Air raid
Air raid refers to an attack by aircraft. See strategic bombing or the smaller-scale airstrike.Air raid may also refer to:*Air Raid , by the improvisational collective Air...
s on Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
. No contact between the two forces was made, and the Japanese task force returned to Truk on 26 October 1943. She soon left Truk for home waters, and on 16 December 1943, the Kongō arrived at Sasebo for refits and training in the Inland Sea.
1944: Combat and loss
Takeo Kurita
Vice Admiral was a vice-admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.-Early life:Kurita was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1889. He was sent off to Etajima in 1905 and graduated from the 38th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1910, ranked 28th out of a class of...
's "Force C". On 13 June, Ozawa's Mobile Fleet departed Tawitawi for the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
, Kongō escorted Japanese fast carriers, and remained undamaged in counterattacks from US carrier aircraft on 20 June. When she returned to Japan, 13 triple and 40 single 25-mm mounts were added to her anti-aircraft armament, for a total of over 100 mounts. In August, two more 6-inch guns were removed and another eighteen single mounts installed.
In October 1944, Kongō departed Lingga in preparation for "Operation Sho-1", Japan's counterattack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
, the largest naval engagement in history. On 24 October, Kongō was undamaged by several near misses from American carrier aircraft in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. On 25 October, during the Battle off Samar
Battle off Samar
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on 25 October 1944...
, Kongō—as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force—engaged the US 7th Fleet's "Taffy 3", a battlegroup of escort carriers and destroyers. She succeeded in scoring numerous hits on the escort carrier as well as the destroyers and . At 09:12, she sank the destroyer escort . After a fierce defensive action by the American ships, which sank three Japanese heavy cruisers, Admiral Kurita elected to withdraw, ending the battle. While retreating, Kongō suffered damage from five near misses from attacking aircraft. The fleet arrived at Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
on 28 October.
On 16 November, following a US air raid on Brunei, Kongō departed Brunei alongside , and the rest of the First Fleet for Kure, in preparation for a major reorganization of the fleet and battle repairs. On 20 November, they entered the Formosa Strait. Shortly after midnight on 21 November, the submarine made radar contact with the fleet at 44,000 yards. Maneuvering into position at 03:00, Sealion II fired three stern torpedoes at Nagato and Kongō. One minute later, two torpedoes were seen to hit Kongō on the port side, while the third sank the destroyer with all hands. The torpedoes flooded two of Kongō boiler rooms, but she was still able to make 16 knots (19.5 mph). By 05:00, she had slowed to 11 kn (13.4 mph) and broken off from the rest of the fleet. At 05:20, she lost all power. Four minutes later, the blip indicating Kongō on Sealion II radar disappeared. Kongō sank in 350 feet (106.7 m) of water with the loss of 1,200 of her crew, including the commander of the Third Battleship Division and her captain. She was the only Japanese battleship sunk by submarine in the Second World War, and the last battleship sunk by submarine in history.
Her sinking was only one out of three battleships sinkings in World War II caused by a submarine attack, the two others were the British Revenge class battleship
Revenge class battleship
The Revenge class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916...
and the Queen Elizabeth class battleship
Queen Elizabeth class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
.