Kongō - class battlecruiser The was a class of four battlecruiser s built for the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) 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 as the latter three were built in Japanese shipyards . During the late 1920s , all but " Hiei " were reconstructed and reclassified as battleships . After the signing of the London Naval Treaty in 1930 , " Hiei " was reconfigured as a training ship to avoid being scrapped . Following Japan ' s withdrawal from the London Naval Treaty , all four underwent a massive second reconstruction in the late 1930s . Following the completion of these modifications , which increased top speeds to over , all four were reclassified as fast battleship s . The " Kongō " - class battleships were the most active capital ships of the Japanese Navy during World War II , participating in most major engagements of the war . " Hiei " and " Kirishima " acted as escorts during the attack on Pearl Harbor , while " Kongō " and " Haruna " supported the invasion of Singapore . All four participated in the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal . " Hiei " and " Kirishima " were both lost during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942 , while " Haruna " and " Kongō " jointly bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal . The two remaining battleships spent most of 1943 shuttling between Japanese naval bases before participating in the major naval campaigns of 1944 . " Haruna " and " Kongō " engaged American surface vessels during the Battle of Leyte Gulf . " Kongō " was torpedoed by USS " Sealion " in November 1944 , while " Haruna " was sunk at her moorings by air attack in Kure Naval Base in late July 1945 and subsequently scrapped . Design . The design of the " Kongō " - class battlecruisers came about as a result of the IJN ' s modernization programs , as well as the perceived need to compete with the British Royal Navy . In March 1908 , the Royal Navy launched at Newcastle upon Tyne . Armed with eight main guns , " Invincible " rendered all current — and designed — Japanese capital ships obsolete by comparison . In 1911 , the Japanese Diet passed the Emergency Naval Expansion Bill , authorizing the construction of one battleship ( ) and four armoured cruisers , to be designed by British naval architect George Thurston . In his design of the class , Thurston relied on many techniques that would eventually be used by the British on the . Under the terms of the contract signed with Vickers in November 1910 , one member of the " Kongō " class — the lead ship " Kongō " — was to be built in Britain . The design of the ships was from Vickers Design 472C ( corresponding to the Japanese design designation B - 46 ) . Though early versions of the design featured eight or ten 12 - inch guns , sixteen guns , and eight torpedo tube s , the armament was upped to eight / 45 calibre guns . The final design of the battlecruisers was an improved version of the , displacing an estimated 27 , 940 tonnes ( 27 , 500 long tons ) . It also called for eight 14 - inch guns mounted in four twin gun turret s ( two forward and two aft ) with a top speed of . Description . The ships had a length of overall and a beam of . They had a draft of and displaced at normal load . Propulsion . The " Kongō " - class ships had two sets of Parsons direct - drive steam turbines , except for " Haruna " s Brown - Curtis turbines , each of which drove two propeller shafts . The high - pressure turbines drove the wing shafts while the low - pressure turbines drove the inner shafts . The turbines were arranged in two compartments , separated by a centerline longitudinal Bulkhead ; both compartments were situated between turrets No . 3 and 4 . They were designed to produce a total of , using steam provided by 36 Yarrow or Kampon water - tube boilers , with working pressures ranging from . The boilers , arranged in eight compartments , were mixed - firing with fuel oil sprayed onto the coal for extra power . The ships had a stowage capacity of of coal and of oil , giving them a range of at a speed of . The battlecruisers were designed to reach a speed of and all of them exceeded that speed on their sea trials . " Kongō " and " Hiei " attained and with and , respectively . In their first reconstruction during the late 1920s , the ships were reboilered with 10 , 11 ( " Hiei " ) or 16 ( " Haruna " ) Kampon boilers and their fuel stowage was rearranged to accommodate of coal and of oil . This increased their range to at 14 knots and allowed the fore funnel to be removed , which greatly decreased smoke interference with the bridge and fire - control system s . Coupled with the addition of external torpedo bulges , this reduced their speed to and caused the IJN to reclassify them as battleships . During their 1930s reconstructions into fast battleships , the existing boilers were removed and replaced with eleven oil - fired Kampon boilers . These upgraded boilers gave the " Kongō " and her sister ships much greater power , with the class capable of speeds exceeding . This made them the only Japanese battleships fully suited to operations alongside fast carriers . Armament . The primary armament of the " Kongō " class consisted of eight 45 - calibre 14 - inch guns , mounted in four superfiring twin - gun turrets . The turrets had an elevation capability of −5 / + 20 degrees except in " Kongō " whose turrets had a maximum elevation capability of + 25 degrees . The shells could be loaded at any angle and the guns had a firing cycle of 30 – 40 seconds . These guns and their turrets underwent multiple modernizations throughout the ships ' careers . During the first reconstruction of the class during the 1920s , the elevation of the main guns was increased to a maximum of + 33 degrees . The recoil mechanism of the guns was also changed from a hydraulic to pneumatic system , which allowed for a faster firing cycle of the main guns . By World War II , the guns used Type 91 armor - piercing , capped shells . Each of these shells weighed and had a muzzle velocity of . They had a maximum range of at + 20 degrees of elevation and at + 43 degrees after modernisation . Also available was a high - explosive shell that had a muzzle velocity of . A special Type 3 " Sankaidan " incendiary shrapnel shell was developed in the 1930s for anti - aircraft use . As built , the " Kongō " class was fitted with a secondary armament of sixteen 50 - caliber six - inch guns mounted in single casemate s along the sides of the hull at the level of the upper deck . Eight guns were mounted per side , and each had an arc of fire of 130 degrees and a maximum elevation of + 15 degrees . Each gun could fire a high explosive projectile a maximum distance of at a rate of between four and six shots per minute . During their reconstruction in the 1930s , the maximum elevation of the guns was increased to + 30 degrees , which increased their maximum range by approximately . During their second reconstruction , two of these guns were removed from each ship , bringing the total to fourteen six - inch guns . The ships also mounted four 40 - caliber 76 mm anti - aircraft ( AA ) guns . The high - angle guns were in single mounts . Each of these guns had a maximum elevation of + 75 degrees , and could fire a projectile with a muzzle velocity of to a maximum height of . Both ships were equipped with eight submerged torpedo tube s , four on each broadside . The " Kongō " class ' s secondary armament changed significantly over time . During the modernizations of the 1930s , all of the 76 mm guns were replaced with eight 40 - caliber dual - purpose gun s . These guns were fitted on both sides of the fore and aft superstructures in four twin - gun mounts . When firing at surface targets , the guns had a range of ; they had a maximum ceiling of at their maximum elevation of + 90 degrees . Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute , but their sustained rate of fire was around eight rounds per minute . During reconstruction , the two foremost 152 mm guns were also removed . The light AA armament of the " Kongō " class changed dramatically from 1933 to 1944 . During the second reconstruction , the ships were fitted with four to eight twin machine - guns , later replaced by gun mounts . Both weapons were license - built French Hotchkiss designs . The 25 mm guns were mounted on the " Kongō " class in single , double and triple mounts . This model was the standard Japanese light anti - aircraft gun during World War II , but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon . The twin and triple mounts " lacked sufficient speed in train or elevation ; the gun sights were unable to handle fast targets ; the gun exhibited excessive vibration ; the magazine was too small , and , finally , the gun produced excessive muzzle blast " . " Haruna " ultimately carried 118 guns in 30 triple , two twin and 24 single mounts . Armour . The " Kongō " - class battlecruisers were designed with the intention of maximizing speed and maneuverability , and as such were not as heavily armoured as later Japanese capital ships . Nevertheless , the " Kongō " class possessed significant quantities of armour , and were heavily upgraded during their modernizations . In their initial configuration , the " Kongō " class possessed an upper belt that was thick , and a lower belt with a thickness of . Vickers Cemented was used in the construction of the " Kongō " , while the original armour of the other three was constructed of a variation of Krupp Cemented Armour , designed by the German Krupp Arms Works . Subsequent developments of Japanese armour technology relied upon a hybrid design of the two variations until drastic changes were made during the design of the " Yamato " class in 1938 . The armoured belt near the bow and stern of the vessels was strengthened with an additional of cemented armour . The conning tower of the " Kongō " class was very heavily armoured , with variations of Krupp Cemented Armour up to thick . The turrets were lightly armoured compared to later designs , with a maximum plate thickness of . The deck armour ranged from . During the reconstructions that each ship underwent during the interwar period , most of the armour of the " Kongō " class was heavily upgraded . The main lower belt was strengthened to be a uniform thickness of 8 inches , while diagonal bulkheads of a depth ranging from reinforced the main armoured belt . The upper belt remained unchanged , but was closed by 9 - inch bulkheads at the bow and stern of the ships . The turret armour was strengthened to , while were added to portions of the deck armour . The upgrades increased the armour displacement by close to 4 , 000 tons on each ship , violating the terms of the Washington Treaty . Even after these modifications , the armour capacity of the " Kongō " class remained much less than that of newer capital ships , a factor which played a major role in the sinking of " Hiei " and " Kirishima " at the hands of U . S . Navy cruisers and battleships in 1942 . Ships . Due to a lack of available slipways , the latter two were the first Japanese warships to be built by private shipyards . Completed by 1915 , they were considered the first modern battlecruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy . According to naval historian Robert Jackson , they " outclassed all other contemporary [ capital ] ships " . The design was so successful that the construction of the fourth battlecruiser of the " Lion " - class — — was halted so that design features of the " Kongō " class could be added . Kongō . " Kongō " was laid down 17 January 1911 at Barrow - in - Furness , launched 18 May 1912 , and commissioned 16 August 1913 . She arrived in Yokosuka via Singapore in November 1913 to undergo armaments sighting checks in Kure Naval Arsenal , being placed in reserve upon her arrival . On 23 August 1914 , Japan formally declared war on the German Empire as part of her contribution to the Anglo - Japanese Alliance , and " Kongō " was deployed near Midway Island to patrol the communications lines of the Pacific Ocean , attached to the Third Battleship Division of the First Fleet . Following the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty , " Kongō " and her contemporaries ( including the ships in the , and es ) were the only Japanese capital ships to avoid the scrapyard . On 1 November 1924 , " Kongō " docked at Yokosuka for modifications which improved fire control and main - gun elevation , and increased her antiaircraft armament . In September 1929 , she began her first major reconstruction . Her horizontal armour , boilers , and machinery space were all improved , and she was equipped to carry Type 90 Model 0 floatplane s . When her reconstruction was completed in 31 March 1931 , she was reclassified as a battleship . From October 1933 to November 1934 , " Kongō " was the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet , before being placed in reserve when the flag was transferred to . On 1 June 1935 , " Kongō " s second reconstruction began . Japan ' s withdrawal from the London Naval Treaty led to reconstruction of her forward tower to fit the Pagoda - Style of design , improvements to the boilers and turbines , and reconfiguration of the aircraft catapults aft of Turret 3 . Her new top speed of qualified her as a fast battleship . The modifications were completed on 8 January 1937 . In either August or November 1941 , she was assigned to the Third Battleship Division with her three sister ships , and sailed on 29 November as part of the main body — four fast battleships , three heavy cruiser s , eight destroyer s — for the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore . Following the destruction of the British Force Z , the Main Body departed for French Indochina , before escorting a fast carrier task force in February during the invasion of the Dutch East Indies . " Kongō " provided cover for Japanese carriers during attacks on the Dutch East Indies in February and Ceylon in March and April . " Kongō " and " Hiei " were part of the Second Fleet Main Body during the Battle of Midway , but were diverted north on 9 June to assist in the invasion of the Aleutian Islands . " Kongō " and her sisters engaged American naval forces in the Battle of Guadalcanal . During this engagement " Kongō " and " Haruna " bombarded Henderson Field with 430 14 - inch and 33 6 - inch shells on 13 October 1942 . Following armament and armour upgrades in late 1943 and early 1944 , " Kongō " sailed as part of Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa ' s Mobile Fleet during the Battle of the Philippine Sea . During the Battle of Leyte Gulf , " Kongō " sortied as part of Admiral Kurita ' s Center Force , scoring hits on an American escort carrier and sinking or damaging two destroyers during the Battle off Samar . " Kongō " and an escort , , were sunk northwest of Taiwan on 21 November 1944 by the submarine , after being hit on the port bow by two or three torpedoes . Approximately 1 , 200 of her crew — including her Captain and the commander of the Third Battleship Division , Vice Admiral Yoshio Suzuki — were lost . She was removed from the Navy List on 20 January 1945 . Hiei . " Hiei " was laid down at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 4 November 1911 , launched 21 November 1912 , and commissioned at Sasebo 4 August 1914 , attached to the Third Battleship Division of the First Fleet . After conducting patrols off China and in the East China Sea during World War I , " Hiei " was placed in reserve in 1920 . After undergoing minor reconstructions in 1924 and 1927 , " Hiei " was demilitarized in 1929 to avoid being scrapped under the terms of the Washington Treaty ; she was converted to a training ship in Kure from 1929 to 1932 . All of her armour and most of her armament were removed under the restrictions of the treaty and carefully preserved . In 1933 , she was refitted as an Imperial Service Ship and — following further reconstruction in 1934 — became the Emperor ' s ship in late 1935 . In 1937 , following Japan ' s withdrawal from the London Treaty , " Hiei " underwent a massive reconstruction along lines similar to those of her sister ships . When the reconstruction was completed on 31 January 1940 , " Hiei " was reclassified as a battleship . " Hiei " sailed in November 1941 as an escort of Vice - Admiral Chuichi Nagumo ' s carrier force which attacked Pearl Harbor . " Hiei " provided escort cover during carrier raids on Darwin in February 1942 , before a joint engagement with " Kirishima " that sank an American destroyer in March . She participated in carrier actions against Ceylon and Midway Island , and was subsequently drydocked in July . Following carrier escort duty during the Battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa - Cruz , " Hiei " departed as the flagship of Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe ' s Combat Division 11 to bombard Henderson Field on the night of 12 – 13 November 1942 . When the fleet encountered Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan ' s Task Group in Ironbottom Sound , the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ensued . In an extremely confusing melee , " Hiei " disabled two American heavy cruisers — killing two rear admirals in the process — but was hit by about 85 shells from the guns of cruisers and destroyers , rendering her virtually unmaneuverable . Abe transferred his flag to " Kirishima " , and the battleship was taken under tow by the same ship , but one of her rudders froze in the full starboard position . Over the next day , " Hiei " was attacked by American aircraft many different times . While trying to evade an attack at 14 : 00 , " Hiei " lost her emergency rudder and began to show a list to stern and starboard . " Hiei " was scuttled northwest of Savo Island on the evening of 13 November by Japanese destroyers . Kirishima . " Kirishima " s keel was laid in Mitsubishi ' s Nagasaki yard on 17 March 1912 . She was launched about a year and a half later ( 1 December 1913 ) and transferred to Sasebo Naval Arsenal for fitting out . After her completion on 19 April 1915 , she served off Japan , China and Korea ' s coasts during the First World War . After the war , she alternated between being based in Japan and patrolling off Japanese ports . On 14 September 1922 , she collided with th destroyer ( ) , causing minor damage to both ships . " Kirishima " also assisted rescue efforts in the aftermath of the devastating 1923 Great Kantō earthquake , which destroyed most of Tokyo . After being sent to the reserve fleet in December 1923 , she received a refit during 1924 . Returning to the main fleet , the battlecruiser operated off China for periods of time in 1925 – 1926 , until she returned to reserve from 1927 to 1931 in preparation for a major reconstruction . Her superstructure was rebuilt , and she received extensive upgrades to armour , propulsion , and waterline bulges . After a period of fleet duty in the early 1930s , she underwent a two - year reconstruction ( 1934 – 1936 ) to rebuild her as a Fast Battleship . This upgrade improved her engine plant , redesigned the superstructure , lengthened the stern , and enabled her to equip floatplanes . After serving as a transport and support - ship during the Second Sino - Japanese War , " Kirishima " escorted the aircraft carrier strikeforce bound for the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 . Following the start of World War II , " Kirishima " served as an escort during carrier attacks on Port Darwin and the Dutch East Indies . " Kirishima " joined her sister ships in escorting naval sorties against Ceylon . She once again served escort duty during the disastrous Battle of Midway , before transferring to Truk Lagoon in preparation for operations against American landings on Guadalcanal . After participating in the Battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz , " Kirishima " joined " Hiei " in a night attack on 13 November 1942 . Following the loss of the latter on the evening of the 13th , " Kirishima " subsequently engaged American battleships on the night of the 14th / 15th . Although she managed to inflict some damage on , she was in turn crippled by . With her engines largely disabled and listing heavily to starboard , " Kirishima " was abandoned in the early morning of 15 November 1942 . She capsized and sank at 03 : 25 with the loss of 212 of her crew . Haruna . " Haruna " was laid down at Kobe by Kawasaki on 16 March 1912 , launched 14 December 1913 , and formally commissioned 19 April 1915 . After a short patrolling duty off Sasebo , " Haruna " suffered a breech explosion during gunnery drills on 12 September 1920 ; seven crewmen were killed and the No . 1 turret badly damaged . After a long period of time in reserve , " Haruna " underwent her first modernization from 1926 to 1928 . The process upgraded her propulsion capabilities , enabled her to carry and launch floatplanes , increasing her armour capacity by over 4 , 000 tons , and was shortly thereafter reclassified as a Battleship . She was overhauled a second time from 1933 to 1935 , which additionally strengthened her armour and reclassified her as a fast battleship . During the Second Sino - Japanese War , " Haruna " primarily served as a large - scale troop transport for Japanese troops to the Chinese mainland . On the eve of the commencement of World War II , " Haruna " sailed as part of Vice - Admiral Nobutake Kondō ' s Southern Force . On 8 December 1941 , " Haruna " provided heavy support for the invasion of Malaya and Singapore . She participated in the major Japanese offensives in the southern and southwestern Pacific in early 1942 , before sailing as part of the carrier - strike force during the Battle of Midway . " Haruna " bombarded American positions at Henderson Field at Guadalcanal , and provided escort to carriers during the Solomon Islands campaign . In 1943 , she deployed as part of a larger force on multiple occasions to counter the threat of American carrier strikes , but did not actively participate in a single battle . In 1944 , " Haruna " was an escort during the Battle of the Philippine Sea and fought American surface vessels off Samar during the Battle of Leyte Gulf . She was the only one of the four battleships in her class to survive 1944 . " Haruna " remained at Kure throughout 1945 , where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 28 July 1945 , after taking nine bomb hits at her moorings . She was subsequently raised and broken up for scrap in 1946 .