Description

The Kongo was a Japanese battlecruiser, the keel of which was laid in 1911, launched in May 1912, and commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy in August 1913. The total length of the ship was 222 meters, width 31 meters, and a full displacement of 36,600 tons. The maximum speed of the Kongo battleship was around 30 knots. The main armament at the time of the launch was 8 356 mm guns in four turrets of two guns, and the secondary armament was mainly 8 152 mm guns. The Kongo was the first of the four battlecruisers of the type to bear that name - the Kongo. The unit was built at the British Vickers shipyard in Barrows-in-Furness. Thorough modernization of the Kongo took place in the period 1929-1931 and 1935-1937, when the ship's engine room was completely changed, the superstructures were expanded, the anti-torpedo cover was improved and the seaplane catapults were added. During World War II, Kongo took part in the Battle of Midway (June 1942), but played a marginal role there. In the last months of 1942 he took part in the fighting in the Guadalcanal area, incl. by firing at American positions on the island. In 1944 he fought in the Battle of Leyte, where he was instrumental in sinking the USS Gambler Bay escort carrier. Congo was sunk on November 21, 1944 as a result of a torpedo attack by the American submarine USS Sealion.