IJN Kongō

Sunk

Type	Battlecruiser, rebuilt as Battleship
Class	Kongō
Wars	First World War, Second World War
Main guns	8 × 356 mm (14 in) naval gun (4×2)

Refits

1929–1931

Rebuilt as a battleship

Thicker deck armour and torpedo bulges, new boilers and a pagoda mast. Reclassed as a battleship.

1935–1937

Lengthened at the stern and given new turbines, raising her speed to 30 knots: a fast battleship that could keep up with the carriers.

British-built battlecruiser, the last Japanese capital ship built abroad. Supported the blockade of Tsingtao. Rebuilt twice between the wars, the second time as a 30-knot fast battleship. With Haruna she shelled Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in October 1942, and she fought at Santa Cruz. Sunk by the US submarine Sealion in November 1944.

The Japanese battleship Kongō on sea trials 14 November 1936 off the coast of Tateyama (cropped) November 14, 1936 off the coast of Tateyama. Displacement 37,003t, 30.27 knots. After the second refurbishment. The main engine and cans are all replaced. Extending her stern to become a fast battleship. Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author; assumed official photographer as this a high-quality photo unlikely to be taken by an amateur and the IJN severely restricted professional photography of its ships after World War I., Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Armament and specifications

Armament

1913

8 × 356 mm (14 in) naval gun (4×2)
16 × 6-inch (15 cm) 50 caliber naval guns (16×1)
16 × 76 mm (3 in) naval guns (8×1)
4 × 6.5 mm (0.26 in) machine gun

1944

8 × 152 mm (6 in) naval gun (8×1)
12 × 127 mm (5.0 in) guns (6×2)
100 × 25 mm Type 96 antiaircraft autocannon (15×3,8×2,40×1)

Armour

Waterline belt: 203 mm (8 in)
Deck: 38–58 mm (1.5–2.3 in) (later strengthened)
Gun turrets: 229 mm (9 in)
Barbettes: 254 mm (10 in)

Builder	Vickers Shipbuilding Company, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down	17 January 1911
Launched	18 May 1912
Commissioned	16 August 1913
Displacement	36,600 long tons (37,187 t)
Length	222 m (728 ft 4 in)
Speed	27.5 knots (31.6 mph; 50.9 km/h)
Complement	1,360