 Kongō in May 1913 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | |
| Operators |  Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Preceded by | Ibuki class |
| Succeeded by | Amagi class (planned) |
| Built | 1911–1915 |
| In commission | 1913–1945 |
| Planned | 4 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Lost | 4 |
| General characteristics (Haruna as built) | |
| Type | Battlecruiser |
| Displacement | 27,384 tonnes (26,952 long tons) |
| Length | 214.58 m (704 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 28.04 m (92 ft 0 in) |
| Draft | 8.22 m (27 ft 0 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 27.5knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 1,193 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
| General characteristics (Haruna, 1945) | |
| Type | Fast battleship |
| Displacement | 32,156 tonnes (31,648 long tons) (standard) |
| Length | 219.61 m (720 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 33.1 m (108 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 4 × steam turbines |
| Speed | 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) |
| Range | 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 1,500+ |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
| Aircraft carried | 3 ×floatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 1 ×catapult |
TheKongō-class battlecruiser (金剛型巡洋戦艦,Kongō-gata jun'yōsenkan) was aclass of fourbattlecruisers built for theImperial Japanese Navy (IJN) immediately beforeWorld War I. Designed by Britishnaval architectGeorge Thurston, the lead ship of the class,Kongō, was the last Japanesecapital ship constructed outside Japan, byVickers atBarrow-in-Furness.[1] Hersister ships,Haruna,Kirishima andHiei, were all completed in Japan.
During the late 1920s, all butHiei were reconstructed and reclassified as battleships. After the signing of theLondon Naval Treaty in 1930,Hiei was reconfigured as atraining ship to avoid beingscrapped. Following Japan's withdrawal from the treaty, all four underwent a massive second reconstruction in the late 1930s. Following the completion of these modifications, which increased top speeds to over 30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), all four were reclassified asfast battleships. The threat of theKongō-class on American lines of communication and logistics leading up toWorld War II highly influenced the U.S. Navy's decision to order theIowa-class fast battleships.
TheKongō-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 andKirishima acted as escorts during theattack on Pearl Harbor, whileKongō andHaruna supported theinvasion of Singapore. All four participated in the battles ofMidway andGuadalcanal.Hiei andKirishima were both lost during theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, whileHaruna andKongō jointly bombarded the AmericanHenderson Field airbase on Guadalcanal. The two remaining Kongō-class battleships spent most of 1943 shuttling between Japanese naval bases before participating in the major naval campaigns of 1944.Haruna andKongō engaged American surface vessels during theBattle of Leyte Gulf in late October 1944.Kongō was torpedoed and sunk by thesubmarineUSS Sealion in November 1944, whileHaruna was sunk at hermoorings by an air attack inKure Naval Base in late July 1945, but later raised and scrapped in 1946.[2]
The design of theKongō-class battlecruisers came about as a result of the IJN's modernization programs, as well as the perceived need to compete with the BritishRoyal Navy.[3]
In April 1907, the Royal Navy launchedHMS Invincible atNewcastle upon Tyne. Armed with eight 12-inch (30.5 cm) main guns,Invincible rendered all current—and designed—Japanese capital ships obsolete by comparison.[1] In 1911, theJapanese Diet passed the Emergency Naval Expansion Bill, authorizing the construction of one battleship (Fusō) and four armoured cruisers, to be designed by Britishnaval architectGeorge Thurston.[3][4] In his design of the class, Thurston relied on many techniques that would eventually be used by the British onHMS Tiger.[1]
Under the terms of the contract signed withVickers in November 1910, one member of theKongō class—thelead shipKongō—was to be built in Britain and Vickers was to maximize the transfer of naval technology to Japan. The design of the ships was from Vickers Design 472C (corresponding to the Japanese design designation B-46). The original design featured ten 12-inch (304.8 mm) 50-calibre guns, sixteen 6-inch (152 mm) guns, and eight 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes. Commander Katô Hirohasu pushed for the adoption of a new14-inch (356 mm)/45calibre gun that was currently under development. After trials of the new gun, which were witnessed by both the Japanese Navy and Royal Navy, the Japanese made the decision on 29 Nov 1911 to use the new gun despite the keel having already been laid down on 17 January 1911, and the resulting need to quickly make a large number of alterations to the design, so as to not prolong the construction. Due to the size of the guns, only 8 were installed[5]
The final design of the battlecruisers resulted in an improved version of theLion class, displacing an estimated 27,940 tonnes (27,500 long tons).[6] It also called for eight 14-inch guns mounted in four twingun turrets (two forward and two aft) with a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph).[7]
To ensure transfer of the latest design knowledge to Japan more than 100 technical specialists were sent on 18 months secondments from Japan to Vickers during the construction phase ofKongō. If superintendents, supervisors and trial witnesses are also included then about 200 Japanese spent time in Britain.[8]
The ships had a length of 214.58 meters (704 ft 0 in)overall and abeam of 28.04 meters (92 ft 0 in). They had adraft of 8.22 meters (27 ft 0 in) anddisplaced 27,384 metric tons (26,952 long tons) at normal load.[9]
TheKongō-class ships had two sets ofParsons direct-drivesteam turbines, except forHaruna'sBrown-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 longitudinalbulkhead; both compartments were situated between turrets No. 3 and 4. They were designed to produce a total of 65,000shaft horsepower (48,000 kW), using steam provided by 36Yarrow or Kamponwater-tube boilers, with working pressures ranging from 17.1 to 19.2 atm (1,733 to 1,945 kPa; 251 to 282 psi).[10] The boilers, arranged in eight compartments, were mixed-firing withfuel oil sprayed onto the coal for extra power. The ships had a stowage capacity of 4,200 long tons (4,267 t) of coal and 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) of oil, giving them a range of 8,000nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[11] The battlecruisers were designed to reach a speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) and all of them exceeded that speed on theirsea trials. TheKongō andHiei attained 27.54 knots (51.00 km/h; 31.69 mph) and 27.72 knots (51.34 km/h; 31.90 mph) with 78,275 shp (58,370 kW) and 76,127 shp (56,768 kW), respectively.[12]
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 2,661 long tons (2,704 t) of coal and 3,292 long tons (3,345 t) of oil. This increased their range to 8,930nautical miles (16,540 km; 10,280 mi) at 14 knots and allowed the forefunnel to be removed, which greatly decreased smoke interference with thebridge andfire-control systems. Coupled with the addition of external torpedo bulges, this reduced their speed to 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) and caused the IJN to reclassify them as battleships.[13][14] During their 1930s reconstructions into fast battleships, the existing boilers were removed and replaced with eleven oil-fired Kampon boilers.[15] These upgraded boilers gave theKongō and hersister ships much greater power, with the ships of the class capable of speeds exceeding 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph). This made them the only Japanese battleships at the time fully suited to operations alongside fastaircraft carriers.[7]
The primary armament of theKongō class consisted of eight14"/45 guns, mounted in foursuperfiring twin-gun turrets.[1] The turrets had an elevation capability of −5/+20 degrees, except inKongō, whose turrets had a maximum elevation capability of +25 degrees. The shells could be loaded at any angle[16] and the guns had a firing cycle of 30–40 seconds.[17] 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.[18]
By World War II, the guns used Type 91armor-piercing, capped shells. Each of these shells weighed 673.5 kilograms (1,485 lb) and had amuzzle velocity of 775 meters per second (2,540 ft/s). They had a maximum range of 25,000 meters (27,000 yd) at +20 degrees of elevation[17] and 35,450 meters (38,770 yd) at +33 degrees after modernisation.[19] Also available was a 625-kilogram (1,378 lb)high-explosive shell that had a muzzle velocity of 805 meters per second (2,640 ft/s). A special Type 3Sanshikidan incendiaryshrapnel shell was developed in the 1930s for anti-aircraft use.[17]
As built, theKongō class was fitted with a secondary armament of sixteen15 cm/50 guns mounted in single casemates along the sides of the hull at the level of the upper deck. Eight guns were mounted per side, and each had anarc of fire of 130 degrees and a maximum elevation of +15 degrees. Each gun could fire a 45.36-kilogram (100 lb)high explosive projectile a maximum distance of 22,970 yards (21,000 m) 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 900 metres (980 yd).[20]
The ships also mounted four76 mm/40anti-aircraft (AA) guns. The 76-millimetre (3 in) high-angle guns were in single mounts. Each of these guns had a maximum elevation of +75 degrees, and could fire a 6 kg (13 lb) projectile with a muzzle velocity of 680 m/s (2,200 ft/s) to a maximum height of 7,500 metres (24,600 ft).[20] Both ships were equipped with eight submerged 533-millimetre (21.0 in)torpedo tubes, four on eachbroadside.[21]
TheKongō class's secondary armament changed significantly over time. During the modernizations of the 1930s, all of the 76 mm guns were replaced with eight127 mm (5 in)/40dual-purpose guns. These guns were fitted on both sides of the fore and aft superstructures in four twin-gun mounts.[19] When firing at surface targets, the guns had a range of 14,700 metres (16,100 yd); they had a maximum ceiling of 9,440 metres (30,970 ft) 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.[22] During reconstruction, the two foremost 152 mm guns were also removed.[23]
The light AA armament of theKongō class changed dramatically from 1933 to 1944. During the second reconstruction, the ships were fitted with four to eight twin 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine-guns, later replaced by 25-millimeter (0.98 in) gun mounts. Both weapons were license-built FrenchHotchkiss designs.[24] The 25 mm guns were mounted on theKongō class in single, double, and triple mounts. This model was the standard Japanese light anti-aircraft gun during World War II, but severe design shortcomings rendered it largely ineffective. 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".[25]Haruna ultimately carried 118 guns in 30 triple, two twin, and 24 single mounts.
TheKongō-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.[1] Nevertheless, theKongō class possessed significant quantities of armour, and were heavily upgraded during their modernizations. In their initial configuration, theKongō class possessed an upper belt that was 6 inches (152 mm) thick, and a lower belt with a thickness of 8 inches (203 mm).[26] Vickers Cemented was used in the construction of theKongō, while the original armour of the other three was constructed of a variation ofKrupp Cemented Armour, designed by the GermanKrupp Arms Works.[26] Subsequent developments of Japanese armour technology relied upon a hybrid design of the two variations until drastic changes were made during the design of theYamato class battleship in 1938. The armoured belt near the bow and stern of the vessels was strengthened with an additional 3 inches (76 mm) of cemented armour.[26] The conning tower of theKongō class was very heavily armoured, with variations of Krupp Cemented Armour up to 14 inches (360 mm) thick.[26] The turrets were lightly armoured compared to later designs, with a maximum plate thickness of 9 inches (229 mm).[1] The deck armour ranged from 1.5 to 2.75 inches (38 to 70 mm).[1]
During the reconstructions that each ship underwent during the interwar period, most of the armour of theKongō 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 5 to 8 inches (127 to 203 mm) reinforced the main armoured belt.[27] The upper belt remained unchanged, but was closed by 9-inch bulkheads at the bow and stern of the ships.[27] The turret armour was strengthened to 10 inches (254 mm), while 4 inches (102 mm) were added to portions of the deck armour.[27] The armour upgrades increased the displacement by close to 4,000 tons on each ship, violating the terms of the Washington Treaty.[7] Even after these modifications, the armour capacity of theKongō class remained much less than that of newer capital ships, a factor which played a major role in the sinking ofHiei andKirishima at the hands of U.S. Navy cruisers and battleships in 1942.[28]
| Ship | Builder[9] | Laid down[9] | Launched[9] | Completed[9] | Fate[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kongō | Vickers,Barrow-in-Furness | 17 January 1911 | 18 May 1912 | 16 August 1913 | Torpedoed and sunk by the submarineUSSSealion, 21 November 1944 |
| Hiei | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal,Yokosuka | 4 November 1911 | 21 November 1912 | 4 August 1914 | Crippled by the heavy cruiserUSSSan Francisco, scuttled following air attacks during theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942 |
| Kirishima | Mitsubishi Shipyard Co.,Nagasaki | 17 March 1912 | 1 December 1913 | 19 April 1915 | Sunk by the battleshipUSSWashington during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 15 November 1942 |
| Haruna | Kawasaki Dockyard Co.,Kobe | 16 March 1912 | 14 December 1913 | Sunk in port by US aircraft, 28 July 1945; broken up from 1946 |
Due to a lack of availableslipways, the latter two were the first Japanese warships to be built by Japanese private shipyards.[4] Completed by 1915, they were considered the first modern battlecruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.[1] According to naval historian Robert Jackson, they "outclassed all other contemporary [capital] ships".[6] The design was so successful that the construction of the fourth battlecruiser of the BritishLion-class—HMS Tiger—was halted so that design features of theKongō class could be added.[6]
Kongō waslaid down 17 January 1911 atBarrow-in-Furness, England,launched 18 May 1912, andcommissioned 16 August 1913. She arrived in Yokosuka viaSingapore in November 1913 to undergo armaments sighting checks inKure Naval Arsenal, being placed in reserve upon her arrival.[3] On 23 August 1914, Japan formally declared war on theGerman Empire as part of her contribution to theAnglo-Japanese Alliance, andKongō was deployed nearMidway Island to patrol the communications lines of thePacific Ocean, attached to the Third Battleship Division of theFirst Fleet.[3] Following the 1922Washington Naval Treaty,Kongō and her contemporaries (including the ships in theNagato,Ise andFusō classes) were the only Japanese capital ships to avoid the scrapyard.[29] On 1 November 1924,Kongō docked at Yokosuka for modifications which improved fire control and main-gun elevation, and increased her antiaircraft armament.[3] 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 0floatplanes.[3][N 1] When her reconstruction was completed on 31 March 1931, she was reclassified as a battleship. From October 1933 to November 1934,Kongō was theflagship of theJapanese Combined Fleet, before being placed in reserve when the flag was transferred toYamashiro.[3]
On 1 June 1935,Kongō's second reconstruction began.[3][30][N 2] Japan's withdrawal from theLondon Naval Treaty[32] led to reconstruction of her forward tower to fit thepagoda mast style of design, improvements to the boilers and turbines, and reconfiguration of the aircraft catapults aft of Turret 3. Her new top speed of 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h) qualified her as afast battleship.[3] The modifications were completed on 8 January 1937.[3][30] In either August[33] or November 1941,[30] 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, threeheavy cruisers, eightdestroyers—for the Japanese invasion ofMalaya andSingapore.[30][33] Following thedestruction of the British Force Z, the Main Body departed forFrench Indochina, before escorting a fast carrier task force in February during the invasion of the Dutch East Indies.[3]Kongō provided cover for Japanese carriers during attacks on theDutch East Indies in February andCeylon in March and April.[3][30]Kongō andHiei were part of the Second Fleet Main Body during theBattle of Midway, but were diverted north on 9 June to assist in the invasion of theAleutian Islands.[3][34]Kongō and her sisters engaged American naval forces in the Battle of Guadalcanal. During this engagementKongō andHaruna bombarded Henderson Field with 430 14-inch and 33 6-inch shells on 13 October 1942.[34][35] Following armament and armour upgrades in late 1943 and early 1944,[3]Kongō sailed as part of AdmiralJisaburō Ozawa's Mobile Fleet during theBattle of the Philippine Sea.[36] During theBattle of Leyte Gulf,Kongō sortied as part of Admiral Kurita's Center Force, seeing her only ship vs ship engagement at theBattle off Samar.[3][37] During the engagement,Kongō sank the destroyer escortSamuel B. Roberts, and helped to sink the destroyerHoel.[38]Kongō also allegedly scored hits to the escort carrierGambier Bay and the destroyerJohnston, sinking or helping to sink both ships, though as it would turn out these hits were misattributed to her and belonged to thebattleship Yamato.[3][39]
Kongō and an escort,Urakaze, were sunk northwest ofTaiwan on 21 November 1944 by the submarineUSS Sealion, after being hit on the port bow by two or three torpedoes.[31][37][40][41] Approximately 1,200 of her crew—including her Captain and the commander of the Third Battleship Division, Vice AdmiralYoshio Suzuki—were lost.[40] She was removed from the Navy List on 20 January 1945.[3]
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.[31][42] After conducting patrols off China and in theEast China Sea during World War I,Hiei was placed in reserve in 1920.[42] 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 atraining ship in Kure from 1929 to 1932.[31][37][42] All of her armour and most of her armament were removed under the restrictions of the treaty and carefully preserved.[42] In 1933, she was refitted as an Imperial Service Ship and—following further reconstruction in 1934—became the Emperor's ship in late 1935.[42][43] In 1937, following Japan's withdrawal from the London Treaty,Hiei underwent a massive reconstruction along lines similar to those of her sister ships.[N 3] When the reconstruction was completed on 31 January 1940,Hiei was reclassified as a battleship.[37][42]Hiei sailed in November 1941 as an escort of Vice-AdmiralChuichi Nagumo's carrier force whichattacked Pearl Harbor.[31][42]Hiei provided escort cover during carrier raids on Darwin in February 1942, before a joint engagement withKirishima that sank an American destroyer in March.[37][42][44] She participated in carrier actions againstCeylon andMidway Island, and was subsequently drydocked in July.[42][45]
Following carrier escort duty during the Battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa-Cruz,Hiei departed as the flagship of Rear AdmiralHiroaki Abe's Combat Division 11 to bombard Henderson Field on the night of 12–13 November 1942.[46][47] When the fleet encountered Rear AdmiralDaniel Callaghan's Task Group inIronbottom Sound, the FirstNaval Battle of Guadalcanal ensued.[48] In an extremely confusing melee,Hiei would sink the destroyersMonssen andLaffey and help to cripple the heavy cruiserSan Francisco—killing two rear admirals in the process—but was hit by about 85 shells from the guns of cruisers and destroyers.[49][42][47] In particular,San Francisco scored a pair of 8-inch (203 mm) hits that penetratedHiei's belt and left her suffering a severe rudder jam, unable to maneuver.[50] Abe transferred his flag toKirishima, and the battleship was taken under tow by the same ship, but one of her rudders froze in the full starboard position.[48] Over the next day,Hiei was attacked by American aircraft many different times.[42][47] While trying to evade an attack at 14:00,Hiei lost her emergency rudder and began to show a list to stern and starboard.[42]Hiei was scuttled northwest ofSavo Island on the evening of 13 November by Japanese destroyers.[47][48]
Kirishima'skeel 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 toSasebo Naval Arsenal forfitting 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 the destroyerFuji, causing minor damage to both ships.[51]Kirishima also assisted rescue efforts in the aftermath of the devastating1923 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.[N 4] 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.[51] 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 theSecond Sino-Japanese War,Kirishima escorted the aircraft carrier strikeforce bound for theattack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Following the start of World War II,Kirishima served as an escort during carrierattacks on Port Darwin and the Dutch East Indies.[7]Kirishima joined her sister ships in escorting naval sorties against Ceylon.[52] 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 joinedHiei in a night attack on 13 November 1942. Following the loss of the latter on the evening of 13 November,Kirishima subsequently engaged American battleships on the night of 14/15 November. She managed to inflict superficial damage onUSS South Dakota, but she was in turn caught off guard while attackingSouth Dakota and was crippled byUSS Washington.[48] 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.[51]
Haruna was laid down atKobe byKawasaki on 16 March 1912, launched 14 December 1913, and formally commissioned 19 April 1915.[15] 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.[15] 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,[7] and was shortly thereafter reclassified as a Battleship.[15] 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.[15] On the eve of the commencement of World War II,Haruna sailed as part of Vice-AdmiralNobutake Kondō's Southern Force. On 8 December 1941,Haruna provided heavy support for the invasion of Malaya and Singapore.[53] 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.[15]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.[15] 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.[54] She was the only one of the four battleships in her class to survive 1944.[55]Haruna remained at Kure throughout 1945, whereshe was sunk by aircraft ofTask Force 38 on 28 July 1945, after taking nine bomb hits at her moorings.[56] She was subsequently raised and broken up for scrap in 1946.[15]
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