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| Kongō class |  |
|---|---|
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type: | battlecruiser |
| Displacement: | 27,500 tons standard 32,200 tons full load |
| Length: | 704 ft (215 m) |
| Beam: | 92 ft (28 m) |
| Draught: | 27.6 ft (8.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 shafts; Parsons turbines; 8/11 boilers; 136,600 shp |
| Speed: | As completed: 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h) After refit: 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1437 |
| Armament: | 8 × 14-inch (356 mm) /45 calibre 16 × 6-inch (152 mm) /50 calibre 8 × 3-inch (76 mm) 8 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
deck: 2.3–1.5 in (57–41 mm)(later strengthened) turrets: 9 in (227 mm) barbettes: 10 in (254 mm) belt: 8–3 in (203–76 mm) |
| Aircraft: | 3 |
The Kongō-class battlecruisers were designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy by the British designer Sir George Thurston and the first ship, Kongō, was built in Britain by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness in 1913. She was the last Japanese warship to be built outside Japan and provided the Japanese with a construction template. At this stage in naval design (before the Battle of Jutland), the battlecruiser concept was still attractive, and the three more of the class were built in Japan. Following Japanese practice for battlecruisers, the four ships were named after mountains. This was the first Japanese warship class to have 14-inch (356 mm) guns, mounted in four twin turrets. The secondary battery was in casements. The design had been developed privately by Vickers, based on the design of HMS Lion. It was in advance of contemporary Admiralty designs and, in its turn, greatly influenced the development of HMS Tiger. Inter-war modernisation reduced the number of boilers and protection was improved, but they remained vulnerable to modern gunfire. The addition of bulges reduced the class' speed and the Japanese re-classified them as "fast battleships". The anti-aircraft armament was increased on all four ships. The equipment needed to provide gunnery fire-control required high, stable superstructures and the Kongōs acquired the distinctive Japanese "pagoda" structures. All four ships saw action in World War II and were sunk.
The ships
- Kongō: launched on 18 May 1912, sunk 21 November 1944
- Hiei: launched on 21 November 1912, sunk November 1942 at Guadalcanal
- Kirishima: launched on 1 December 1913, lost November 1942. At Guadalcanal, in a rare action between battleships, Kirishima inflicted minor damage on the USS South Dakota, while USS Washington crippled the Japanese ship, causing her to be scuttled.
- Haruna: launched on 14 December 1913, sunk on 28 July 1945 near Kure Naval Base, Hiroshima, Japan
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| Kongō | Hiei | Kirishima | Haruna |
| List of ships of the Japanese Navy |
