IJN Kongo

IJN Congo History

In 1911, the Imperial Diet of Japan (Teikoku-gikai) approved funding to support the Navy Emergency Expansion Act, which authorized the design and construction of one battleship and four battlecruisers. Due to Japan's lack of port facilities and large artillery, the Japanese Navy approached Britain and Sir George Thurston with a design for a battlecruiser for the Pacific nations to be built in Britain.

Agreement was reached and the future IJN Kongo keel was laid on 17 January 1911 at Vickers shipyard in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, and officially commissioned in August 1913.

The IJN Kongo is the first of Japan's four-man class 26,230-ton battlecruisers and the last major Japanese warship to be built abroad - the other three will be built in Japan. She was the first ship in the Japanese Navy and in the world to be equipped with a 14-inch (356 mm) main gun and four twin turrets, two in the front and two in the rear.

This charge allows the entire crew of 8 cannons to attack a single target together. At the time of construction, the secondary armament consisted of 16 individually mounted 6" (152 mm) guns, 8 on port and 8 on starboard.

Anti-air protection consists of 8 x 3 in (76 mm) guns evenly distributed around the ship's deck structure. Like most capital ships of the time, Kong was equipped with 8 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes on each side of the ship, in groups of four.

As mentioned earlier, the remaining three Kongo-class ships were built in Japan according to the original blueprint. Next was IJN Hiei in 1914, followed by IJN Haruna and IJN Kirishima, both built in 1915 at local Japanese shipyards. Each comes with a small bridge and two identifiable tripod poles. These boats have three funnels and a slim profile.

Interestingly, the Vickers design supports today's battlecruiser approach, with heavy weapons, high top speed, and limited armor protection. Armor protection used in 1913 accounted for 23.3% of the total weight of the ship, and it was built to repel the fire of enemy 14-inch shells at ranges up to 21,900 yards.

Her overall firepower made the IJN Kongo and her class the most powerful ships in the world at the time.

The British admired Kongo's design so much that it was believed that the Lion-class battlecruisers and their main ship, the Tiger battleships, were influenced by Japanese designs. Knowing that the war was about to engulf Europe, the British contacted Japan to lease the King Kong and her sister ships, but Japan politely declined.

On August 3, 1914, the German Empire declared war, and within days, the Japanese government ordered Germany to withdraw its troops from Qingdao. Germany refused, and Japan declared war on the German Empire on 23 August, and subsequently attacked and occupied German island possessions in the Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, and Mariana Islands, as well as fortified islands in Palau. Kongo and Hiei were assigned to the 1st Battleship Division and were assigned to patrol the Chinese coast to support the Japanese.

King Kong spent World War I at the naval base in Sasebo or while patrolling the coast of China.

Kong and her sisters became the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which continued to modernize the class over the years. Kongo was placed in reserve in 1918, the last year of the war, with anti-torpedo bumps installed on her hull and her deck armor upgraded. In 1924, the decision to improve the tripod mast by adding supports allowed the installation of observation point platforms. In addition, additional searchlights and observer positions were installed on the masts of a new large pagoda developed by the Japanese Navy itself.

A hood has been added to the front-most funnel to reduce smoke on the new pagoda. The turret was modified to allow the gun elevation to be increased from 30 to 40 degrees. New boilers have been added, armor has increased by 3,800 tons, and her top speed has been reduced from 27.5 to 25.9 knots.

Added space for three seaplanes as well as catapult and salvage cranes.

Congo was held in local waters until a drastic overhaul between 1933 and 1940 just in time for the Japanese military to be active in pre-WWII operations. The main focus is to regain the speed lost during the last overhaul.

The existing prime mover, including the boiler, was removed and replaced. A lighter boiler and turbine can now reduce one of the hoppers, saving weight and doubling the ship's power.

To further increase speed, the fuselage was lengthened (26 feet/8.0 meters), giving the Kongo an increased aspect ratio. Ship speed increased to over 30 knots (about 35 miles per hour), which allowed Congo to keep pace with the new generation of aircraft carriers.

Her speed now allows her to be officially classified as a "Fast Battleship".

When World War II broke out in the Pacific, Congo prepared to attack the Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch West Indies. During the Battle of Midway, Kongo was stationed with Admiral Kondo's cover team. Guadalcanal needs Kondo and Hiei to bomb Henderson Field. Later, on November 13, 1942, the Hiei and Kirishima engaged the U.S.

Navy, causing severe damage to American ships. However, Hiei himself was attacked by sea fire and air raids and sank the next day. King Kong, which was removed for the last modification, did not take part in combat operations until 1943 and 1944.

She was sent to assist the Japanese fleet during the June 1944 naval battle in the Philippine Sea. Kong witnessed the destruction of the Imperial Japanese fleet at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history.

Congo was ordered to return to Japan and fly over the Taiwan Strait in late November 1944. On 21 November, she was spotted and sunk by the US Navy submarine USS Sea Lion.

This action made Kongo the only Japanese battleship to be sunk by a submarine during World War II, and her downing marked the last time a battleship was sunk by a submarine in naval history.

Specification

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Performance

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