As part of the Third Battleship Division, "Hiei" participated in many of the Imperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) as well as the Indian Ocean raid of April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, she sailed in the Invasion Force under Admiral Nobutake Kondō, before being redeployed to the Solomon Islands during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She escorted Japanese carrier forces during the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands, before sailing as part of a bombardment force under Admiral Kondō during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. On the evening of 13 November 1942, "Hiei" engaged American cruisers and destroyers alongside her sister ship . After inflicting heavy damage on American cruisers and destroyers, "Hiei" was crippled by American vessels. Subjected to an air attack from the USS "Enterprise", she was scuttled on the evening of 14 November 1942.