Japanese Battleship Kongō
Open the military map戦艦金剛
Battleship
IJN Kongō was the lead ship of the Kongō-class fast battleships and the last major Japanese capital ship built abroad, constructed by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness in 1913. After two major reconstructions she became Japan's fastest battleship at 30 knots, and served as the most active Japanese battleship of World War II. She was torpedoed and sunk by USS Sealion (SS-315) in the Formosa Strait on 21 November 1944, the only Japanese battleship sunk by a submarine in the war.
- Armament
- 35.6cm(14吋)砲8門(4×2)、15.2cm砲8門、12.7cm高角砲12門、25mm機銃約100門
- Fate
- Sunk by submarine
History
IJN Kongō (金剛) was the lead ship of a class of four battlecruisers—later fast battleships—built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her keel was laid on 17 January 1911 at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, England, and she was launched on 18 May 1912. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was commissioned on 16 August 1913 as the last major Japanese warship constructed outside Japan. She was also the first battleship anywhere to mount 14-inch (356 mm) main guns.
Kongō underwent two major reconstructions. The first (1929–1931) converted her from a battlecruiser into a battleship, substantially improving her armour protection. The second (1935–1937) lengthened her hull, replaced her boilers, and raised her speed to 30.5 knots, earning her the reclassification as a "fast battleship" capable of operating with carrier task forces.
During World War II, Kongō compiled a combat record unmatched among Japanese battleships. She escorted landings in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in early 1942, participated in the Midway operation, and in October 1942 she and Haruna bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal—often described as the most successful Japanese battleship action of the war. She fought at the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 1944) and at the Battle off Samar during Leyte Gulf (October 1944), where she helped sink USS Samuel B. Roberts.
On 21 November 1944, while transiting the Formosa Strait northward in a convoy, Kongō was struck by two torpedoes fired by USS Sealion (SS-315). She sank at approximately 26°09′N 121°23′E, about 60 miles north of Keelung, Taiwan, in 348 feet of water. Roughly 1,200 of her crew perished. She remains the only IJN battleship sunk by a submarine during the entire war.
Related sites (3)
- Built54.111, -3.228
Built by Vickers Ltd. at the Naval Construction Yard, Barrow-in-Furness, England. Keel laid 17 January 1911; launched 18 May 1912; commissioned 16 August 1913. She was the last major Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan.
- Homeport33.157, 129.715
Sasebo Naval Base (佐世保鎮守府), Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Kongō used Sasebo as her principal home base throughout much of her career, returning there for refits, training, and crew rotation between deployments.
- Sunk26.150, 121.383
Sunk by USS Sealion (SS-315) on 21 November 1944 at approximately 26°09′N 121°23′E, about 60 nautical miles north of Keelung (Jilong), Taiwan, in the Formosa (Taiwan) Strait, in approximately 348 feet (106 m) of water. She is the only Japanese battleship sunk by a submarine in World War II. Approximately 1,200 crew members were lost.
Images
