Japanese battleship Kongō Kongō ( 金剛 , " indestructible " , named for Mount Kongō ) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II . She was the first battlecruiser of the , among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built . Her designer was the British naval engineer George Thurston , and she was laid down in 1911 at Barrow - in - Furness in Britain by Vickers Shipbuilding Company . " Kongō " was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan . She was formally commissioned in 1913 , and patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I . " Kongō " underwent two major reconstructions . Beginning in 1929 , the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship , strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power capabilities . In 1935 , her superstructure was completely rebuilt , her speed was increased , and she was equipped with launch catapults for floatplane s . Now fast enough to accompany Japan ' s growing carrier fleet , " Kongō " was reclassified as a fast battleship . During the Second Sino - Japanese War , " Kongō " operated off the coast of mainland China before being redeployed to the Third Battleship Division in 1941 . On the eve of World War II , she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore . The " Kongō " fought in a large number of major naval actions of the War in the Pacific during World War II . She covered the Japanese Army ' s amphibious landings in British Malaya ( part of present - day Malaysia ) and the Dutch East Indies ( now Indonesia ) in 1942 , before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway and during the Guadalcanal Campaign . Throughout 1943 , " Kongō " primarily remained at Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands , Kure Naval Base ( near Hiroshima ) , Sasebo Naval Base ( near Nagasaki ) , and Lingga , Malaysia , and deployed several times in response to American aircraft carrier air raid s on Japanese island bases scattered across the Pacific . The " Kongō " participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 ( October 22 – 23 ) , engaging and sinking American vessels in the latter . The " Kongō " was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine while transiting the Formosa Strait on 21 November 1944 . Design and construction . The " Kongō " was the first of the Imperial Japanese Navy ' s " Kongō " - class battlecruisers , which were almost as large , costly and well - armed as battleship s , but which traded off armored protection for higher speeds . These were designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston and were ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of in 1908 . These four battlecruisers of the " Kongō " class were designed to match the naval capabilities of the battlecruisers of the other major naval powers at the time , and they have been called the battlecruiser versions of the British ( formerly Turkish ) battleship . Their heavy armament of 14 - inch naval guns and their armor protection ( which took up about 23 . 3 % of their approximately 30 , 000 - ton displacements in 1913 ) were greatly superior to those of any other Japanese capital ship afloat at the time . The keel of the " Kongō " was laid down at Barrow - in - Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering on 17 January 1911 . Under Japan ' s contract with Vickers , the first vessel of the class was constructed in the United Kingdom , with the remainder built in Japan . the " Kongō " was launched on 18 May 1912 , and then transferred to the dockyards of Portsmouth , England , where her fitting - out began in mid - 1912 . All parts used in her construction were manufactured in the U . K . The " Kongo " was completed on 16 April 1913 . Armament . The " Kongō " s main battery consisted of eight heavy - caliber main naval gun s in four twin turret s ( two forward and two aft ) . The turrets were noted by the U . S . Office of Naval Intelligence to be " similar to the British 15 - inch turrets " , with improvements made in flash - tightness . Each of her main guns could fire high explosive or armor - piercing shells at a firing rate of about two shells per minute . < ref name = " 14 / 45 " > < / ref > In keeping with the Japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels before their opponents , the " Kongō " and her sister ships were the first vessels in the world equipped with guns . Her main guns carried ammunition for 90 shots , and they had an approximate barrel lifetime of 250 to 280 shots . In 1941 , separate dyes were introduced for the armor - piercing shells of the four " Kongō " - class battleships to assist with targeting , with the " Kongō " s armor - piercing shells using red dye . The secondary battery of the " Kongō " originally consisted of sixteen 50 - caliber guns in single casemate s ( all located amidships ) , eight guns , and eight submerged torpedo tubes . ( " 50 calibre " means that the lengths of the guns were to times their bore , or 700 inches . ) Her six - inch naval guns could fire five to six rounds per minute , with a barrel lifetime of about 500 rounds . The 6 - inch / 50 calibre gun was capable of firing both antiaircraft and antiship shells , though the positioning of these guns on the " Kongō " made antiaircraft firing mostly impractical . During her second reconstruction , the older three - inch guns were removed and then replaced with eight 5 - inch / 40 calibre dual - purpose guns . These guns could fire from eight to 14 rounds per minute , with a barrel lifetime of about 800 to 1 , 500 rounds . Of " Kongō " s guns , the 5 - inch guns had the widest variety of shell types : antiaircraft , antiship , and illumination shells . The " Kongō " was also armed with a large number of antiaircraft machine guns . By October 1944 , the " Kongō " s secondary armament was reconfigured to eight guns , eight guns , and 122 Type 96 antiaircraft rapid - fire cannons . Her Service in the I . J . N . . 1913 – 1929 : Battlecruiser . On 16 August 1913 , the " Kongō " was completed and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy ( I . J . N . ) . Twelve days later , she departed from Portsmouth headed for Japan . She was docked at Singapore from 20 October to the 27th , before arriving at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 5 November , where she was placed in First Reserve . In January 1914 , she docked at Kure Naval Base for armament checks . On 3 August 1914 , the German Empire declared war on France and then invaded via Belgium , sparking the beginning of World War I in the West . Twelve days later , Japan issued a warning to Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire , ordering him to withdraw the German troops from their base at Tsingtao , China . When the German Empire did not respond , Japan declared war on the Germany on 23 August , occupying the former German possessions in the Caroline Islands , Palau Islands , Marshall Islands , and Marianas Islands . The " Kongō " was quickly deployed towards the Central Pacific to patrol the sea lines of communication of the German Empire . The " Kongō " returned to the port of Yokosuka , Japan , on 12 September , and one month later , she was assigned to the First Battleship Division . In October , the " Kongō " and her new sister ship sortied off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese army units during the Siege of Tsingtao . Then the " Kongō " returned to Sasebo Naval Base for upgrades to her searchlights . On 3 October 1915 , the " Kongō " and the " Hiei " participated in the sinking of the old as a practice target . She was a Russian pre - dreadnought that had been captured in 1905 during the Russo - Japanese War that had next served as an I . J . N . warship . With the defeat of the German East Asia Squadron by the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914 , there was little or no need for I . J . N . operations in the Pacific Ocean . The " Kongō " spent the rest of World War I either based at Sasebo , or on patrol off the coast of China . In December 1918 , following the end of the hostilities of World War I , the " Kongō " was placed in " Second Reserve " . In April 1919 , she was fitted with a new seawater flooding system for her ammunition magazines . With the conclusion of World War I , and the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty on 6 February 1922 , the size of the I . J . N . was significantly limited , with a ratio of 5 : 5 : 3 required between the capital ships of the United Kingdom , the United States , and the Japanese Empire , since the latter was only responsible for one ocean , rather than the two of the other country , and fewer warships for France and Italy . This Treaty also banned the signatories from building any new capital ships until 1931 , with no capital ship permitted to exceed in displacement . Provided that new additions did not exceed 3 , 000 tons of displacement , the existing capital ships were allowed to be upgraded with improved anti - torpedo bulge s and armor ed main decks . By the time that the Washington Naval Treaty had been fully implemented in Japan , only three classes of World War I type capital ships remained active : the s , the " Kongō " - class battlecruisers , and the s . In April 1923 , " Kongō " gave transportation to Emperor Hirohito during his official visit to the Japanese possession of Formosa ( now Taiwan ) off the coast of China . In November 1924 , the " Kongo " docked at Yokosuka , where modifications were made to her main armament , increasing the elevation of her main guns and improving her fire - control systems . In 1927 , the " Kongō " underwent major modifications to her superstructure , rebuilding it into the pagoda mast style to accommodate the growing number of fire - control systems for her main guns . In May 1928 , her steering equipment was upgraded , before she was placed in reserve in preparation for major modifications and reconstruction in 1929 – 31 . 1929 – 1935 : Reconstruction into battleship . Prohibited by the Washington Treaty from constructing new capital ships until 1931 , Japan resorted to upgrading their World War I era battleships and battlecruisers . Beginning in September 1929 , the " Kongō " underwent extensive modernization and modification in drydock at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal . Over the next two years , the " Kongō " s horizontal armor near her ammunition magazines was strengthened , and the machinery spaces within the hull were given increased torpedo protection . Anti - torpedo bulges were added along the waterline , as permitted by the Washington Treaty . She was refitted to accommodate three Type 90 Model 0 floatplanes , though no aircraft catapult s were fitted . To increase her speed and power , all 36 of her Yarrow boilers were removed , and then replaced with 16 newer boilers , and Brown - Curtis direct - drive turbines were installed . The " Kongō " s forward funnel was removed , and her second funnel was enlarged and lengthened . The modifications to her hull increased her armor weight from 6 , 502 to 10 , 313 long tons , directly violating the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty . In March 1931 , the " Kongō " — now capable of a speed of — was reclassified as a battleship . On 22 April 1930 , Japan signed the London Naval Treaty , placing further restrictions on the signatories ' naval forces . Several of her older battleships were scrapped , and no new capital ships were built as replacements . After minor fitting - out work , the " Kongō " s reconstruction begun in September 1929 and was declared complete on 31 March 1931 . On 1 December 1931 , two months after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria , the " Kongō " was assigned to the First Battleship Division and also designated the flagship of the Combined Fleet . Additional rangefinders and searchlights were fitted to her superstructure in January 1932 , and Captain Nobutake Kondō assumed command of the vessel in December . In 1933 , aircraft catapults were fitted between the two rear turrets . On 25 February 1933 , following a report by the Lytton Commission , the League of Nations agreed that Japan ' s invasion of China had violated Chinese sovereignty . Refusing to accept the judgement of this organization , Japan withdrew from the League of Nations on the same day . Japan also immediately withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty , thus removing all restrictions on the numbers and sizes of her capital warships . In November 1934 , the " Kongō " was placed in Second Reserve in preparation for further modifications . On 10 January 1935 , the " Kongō " was toured by the Nazi German naval attaché to Japan , Captain Paul Wenneker , as part of a gunnery demonstration . 1935 – 1941 : Fast battleship . On 1 June 1935 , the " Kongō " was dry - docked at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in preparation for upgrades that would enable her to escort Japan ' s growing fleet of aircraft carrier s . Her stern was lengthened by to improve her fineness ratio and her 16 older boilers were removed and then replaced with 11 oil - fired Kampon Boilers and newer geared turbines . In addition , her bridge was completely reconstructed according to Japan ' s pagoda mast style of forward superstructure , and catapult s were added to support three Nakajima E8N or Kawanishi E7K reconnaissance and spotter floatplanes . The " Kongō " s armor was also extensively upgraded . Her main belt was strengthened to a uniform thickness of eight inches ( up from varying thicknesses of six to eight inches ) , and also diagonal bulkheads of depths ranging from were added to reinforce the main armored belt . The turret armor was strengthened to , while were added to portions of the deck armor . The " Kongō " s ammunition magazine protection was also strengthened to . This reconstruction was finished on 8 January 1937 . Capable of greater than , despite the significant increase in her hull displacement , the " Kongō " was now reclassified as a fast battleship . In February 1937 , the " Kongō " was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District , and in December she was placed under the command of Takeo Kurita in the Third Battleship Division . In April 1938 , two float planes from the " Kongō " bombed the Chinese town of Foochow during the Second Sino - Japanese War . Throughout 1938 and 1939 , the " Kongō " steamed off the Chinese coast in support of Japanese Army operations during the war . In November 1939 , Captain Raizo Tanaka assumed command of the " Kongō " . From November 1940 to April 1941 , additional armor was added to the " Kongō " s armament barbettes and ammunition tubes , while ventilation and firefighting equipment was also improved . In August 1941 , she was assigned to the Third Battleship Division under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa alongside her fully modified sister warships the " Hiei " , and the . 1942 : Early war service . The " Kongō " and the " Haruna " departed from the Hashirajima fleet anchorage on 29 November 1941 to begin the War in the Pacific as part of the Southern ( Malay ) Force ' s Main Body , under the overall command of Vice - Admiral Nobutake Kondō . On 4 December 1941 , the Main Body arrived off the coast of southern Thailand and northern Malaya in preparation for the invasion of Thailand and the Malayan Peninsula four days later . When Britain ' s " Force Z " — consisting of the battleship and the battlecruiser — was quickly defeated by Japan ' s land - based aircraft from southern Vietnam , the " Kongō " s battlegroup withdrew from Malayan waters . This battlegroup subsequently sortied from Indochina for three days in mid - December to protect a reinforcement convoy traveling to Malaya , and again on 18 December to cover the Japanese Army ' s landing at Lingayen Gulf , Luzon , in the Philippines . The Main Body departed Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina on 23 December bound for Taiwan , arriving two days later . In January 1942 , the " Kongō " and the heavy cruiser s and provided distant cover for air attacks on Ambon Island . On 21 February , the " Kongō " was joined by the " Haruna " , four fast aircraft carrier s , five heavy cruiser s and numerous support ships in preparation for " Operation J " , Japan ' s invasion of the Dutch East Indies . On 25 February , the Third Battleship Division provided cover for air attacks on the Island of Java . The " Kongō " bombarded Christmas Island off the western coast of Australia on 7 March 1942 , and then she returned to Staring - baai for 15 days of standby alert . In April 1942 , the " Kongō " joined five fleet carriers in attacks on Colombo and Trincomalee on Ceylon . Following the destruction of the British heavy cruisers and , and the aircraft carrier on 5 April 1942 , this naval task force moved southwest to locate the remainder of the British Eastern Fleet , then under the command of Admiral James Somerville . On 9 April , one of " Haruna " s reconnaissance seaplanes spotted the south of Trincomalee . On the same day , Japanese air attacks sank the carrier , and the " Kongō " was attacked but missed by nine British medium bomber s . Having crippled the offensive capability of Britain ' s Eastern Fleet , the Third Battleship Division returned to Japan . The " Kongō " reached Sasebo on 22 April . From 23 April to 2 May , the " Kongō " was drydocked for reconfiguration of her antiaircraft armament . On 27 May 1942 , the " Kongō " sortied with the " Hiei " and the heavy cruiser s , , , and as part of Admiral Nobutake Kondō ' s invasion force during the Battle of Midway . Following the disastrous loss of four of the Combined Fleet ' s fast carriers on 4 June 1942 , Kondō ' s force withdrew to Japan . On 14 July she was assigned as the flagship of the restructured Third Battleship Division . In August , the " Kongō " was drydocked at Kure to receive surface - detection radar and additional range finders . In September , the " Kongō " embarked with the " Hiei " , the " Haruna " , the " Kirishima " , three carriers , and numerous smaller warships in response to the U . S . Marine Corps ' s amphibious landing on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands . On 20 September , this task force was ordered to return to the Truk Naval Base in the Central Pacific north of the equator . In the aftermath of the Battle of Cape Esperance , the Japanese Army opted to reinforce its troops on Guadalcanal . To protect their transport convoy from enemy air attack , Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto sent the " Haruna " and the " Kongō " , escorted by one light cruiser and nine destroyer s , to bombard the American air base as Henderson Field . Because of their high speeds , these two battleships could bombard the airfield and then withdraw before being subjected to air attack from either land - based warplanes or American aircraft carriers . On the night of 13 – 14 October , these two battleships shelled the area of Henderson Field from a distance of about , firing 973 14 - inch high - explosive shells . In the most successful Japanese battleship action of the war , the bombardment heavily damaged both runways , destroyed almost all of the U . S . Marines ' aviation fuel , destroyed or damaged 48 of the Marines ' 90 warplanes , and killed 41 Marines . A large Japanese troop and supply convoy reached Guadalcanal on the next day . During the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942 , the " Kongō " was attacked by four TBF Avenger torpedo bombers , but she received no hits . In mid - November , this battleship and other warships provided distant cover for the unsuccessful mission by the I . J . N . to bombard Henderson Field again and to deliver more Army reinforcements to Guadalcanal . On 15 November 1942 , following the Japanese defeat and the sinking of the " Hiei " and " Kirishima " during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal , the Third Battleship Division returned to Truk , where it remained for the rest of 1942 . 1943 : Movement between bases . Throughout 1943 , the " Kongō " engaged no enemy targets . In late January 1943 , she participated in " Operation Ke " as part of a diversionary and distant covering force to support I . J . N . destroyer s that were evacuating Army troops from Guadalcanal . During the 15th through 20 February 1943 , the Third Battleship Division was transferred from Truk to the Kure Naval Base . On 27 February , the " Kongō " was drydocked to receive upgrades to her antiaircraft armament , with the additions of two triple 25 - mm gun mounts and the removal of two of her 6 - inch turrets , while additional concrete protection was added near her steering gear . On 17 May 1943 , in response to the U . S . Army s invasion of Attu Island , the " Kongō " sortied alongside , the Third Battleship Division , two fleet carriers , two cruiser s , and nine destroyers . Three days later , the American submarine spotted this naval task force , but she was unable to attack it . On 22 May 1943 , the task force arrived in Yokosuka , where it was joined by an additional three fleet carriers and two light cruiser s . This force was disbanded when Attu fell to the U . S . Army before the necessary preparations for a counterattack had been finished . On 17 October 1943 , the " Kongō " again left Truk as part of a larger task force consisting of five battleships , three fleet carriers , eight heavy cruisers , three light cruisers , and numerous destroyers . These sortied in response to U . S . Navy air raid s on Wake Island . No contact between the two forces was made , and the Japanese task force returned to Truk on 26 October 1943 . She soon left Truk for home waters , and on 16 December 1943 , the " Kongō " arrived at Sasebo for refits and training in the Inland Sea . 1944 : Combat and loss . In January 1944 , " Kongō " was dry - docked for a reconfiguration of her anti - aircraft suite . Four 6 - inch guns and a pair of twin 25 - mm mounts were removed and replaced with four 5 - inch guns and four triple 25 - mm mounts . The Third Battleship Division departed Kure on 8 March 1944 . Arriving at Lingga on 14 March 1944 , the division remained for training until 11 May 1944 . On 11 May 1944 , " Kongō " and Admiral Ozawa ' s Mobile Fleet departed Lingga for Tawitawi , where they were joined by Vice - Admiral Takeo Kurita ' s " Force C " . On 13 June , Ozawa ' s Mobile Fleet departed Tawitawi for the Mariana Islands . During the Battle of the Philippine Sea , " Kongō " escorted Japanese fast carriers , and remained undamaged in counterattacks from US carrier aircraft on 20 June . When she returned to Japan , 13 triple and 40 single 25 - mm mounts were added to her anti - aircraft armament , for a total of over 100 mounts . In August , two more 6 - inch guns were removed and another eighteen single mounts installed . In October 1944 , " Kongō " departed Lingga in preparation for " Operation Sho - 1 " , Japan ' s counterattack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf , the largest naval engagement in history . On 24 October , " Kongō " was undamaged by several near misses from American carrier aircraft in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea . On 25 October , during the Battle off Samar , " Kongō " — as part of Admiral Kurita ' s Centre Force — engaged the US 7th Fleet ' s " Taffy 3 " , a battlegroup of escort carrier s and destroyers . She succeeded in scoring numerous hits on the escort carrier as well as the destroyers and . At 09 : 12 , she sank the destroyer escort . After a fierce defensive action by the American ships , which sank three Japanese heavy cruisers , Admiral Kurita elected to withdraw , ending the battle . While retreating , " Kongō " suffered damage from five near misses from attacking aircraft . The fleet arrived at Brunei on 28 October . On 16 November , following a US air raid on Brunei , " Kongō " departed Brunei alongside , and the rest of the First Fleet for Kure , in preparation for a major reorganization of the fleet and battle repairs . On 20 November , they entered the Formosa Strait . Shortly after midnight on 21 November , the submarine made radar contact with the fleet at 44 , 000 yards . Maneuvering into position at 03 : 00 , " Sealion " fired three stern torpedoes at " Nagato " and " Kongō " . One minute later , two torpedoes were seen to hit " Kongō " on the port side , while the third sank the destroyer with all hands . The torpedoes flooded two of " Kongō " s boiler rooms , but she was still able to make . By 05 : 00 , she had slowed to and broken off from the rest of the fleet . At 05 : 20 , she lost all power . Four minutes later , the blip indicating " Kongō " on " Sealion " s radar disappeared . " Kongō " sank in of water with the loss of 1 , 200 of her crew , including the commander of the Third Battleship Division and her captain . She was the only Japanese battleship sunk by submarine in the Second World War , and the last battleship sunk by submarine in history . Her sinking was only one out of three battleship sinkings in World War II caused by a submarine attack , the two others were the British and the .