| Japanese "Kongo" Class |
| Battlecruisers |
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| Having no experience in the design of battlecruisers the IJN ordered their first one in Great Britain - similar to the British Lion class and adopted to the battleship Erin. The Kongo was designed by Sir George Thurston and laid down at Vickers, Barrow. When completed in 1913 the Kongo was superior to their contemporary counterparts. | ||||
| Based on the design of the Kongo the IJN ordered three more ships at domestic yards - the Hiei (1914), Kirishima (1915) and Haruna (1915). In September 1917 the Imperial Japanese Navy used the Kongo for first trials to lauch an aircraft from a ship; | ||||
The Kongo's were modernized and upgraded in terms of propulsion and
protection in the late 1920s and reclassified as battleships  .
In the mid 1930s they got an additional reconstruction. |
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| Technical Data | ||
| Built: Displacement: Dimensions: Propulsion: Max. Speed: Range: Crew: |
1911 - 1915 27,500 / 32,300 ts 214.6 × 28.0 × 8.4 m 64,000 shp; ? boilers; 4 turbines/shafts 27.5 kts 8,000 nm @ 10 kts 1,221 |
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| Tactical Data | ||
| Main Armament: Secondary: AA: Torpedoes: Planes: Armor: Radar: |
8×356 cal 45 [4×2] 16×152 cal 50 8×127 cal 40; 20×25 mm (later up to 118x25) 8x533 [submerged] - deck: 203; belt: 70; turrets: 228; ? - |
Kongo - 1911-01-17: laid down at Vickers,
Barrow; 1912-05-18: launched; 1913-08-16: commissioned;  ;
late 20s: modernized and reclassified as battleships, the new torpedo
bulge reduced the maximum speed, the
superstructure received significant changes;1936-1937: a further refit and modernization;
1944-11-21: torpedoed by USS Sealion north west of Formosa after the
Battle of Leyte |
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| Hiei -
1911-11-04: laid down at Yokosuka Navy Yard;
1912-11-21: launched: 1914-08-04: commissioned; 1942-11-13: sunk at Guadalcanal |
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| Kirishima - laid down 1915; sunk at Guadalcanal 14/15 November 1942 | |
| Haruna - laid
down 1915;
sunk by U.S. planes at Kobe 21 November 1944; scrapped 1946 |
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