Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Battlecruiser Haruna pictured at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on September 11th 1916.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Battlecruiser Hiei pictured off Oshima Island on October 24th 1927.
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designeraccd
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Two views of the HARUNA hulk postwar, including removal of one of her 14" rifles. ;) DFO
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Dreadnought Battleship Haruna pictured off Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on November 3rd 1931..Haruna was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Kirishima. Haruna patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I. During gunnery drills in 1920, an explosion destroyed one of her guns, damaged the gun turret, and killed seven men. During her career, Haruna underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1926, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a Battleship, strengthening her armour and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1933, her superstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing Carrier fleet, Haruna was reclassified as a fast Battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Haruna transported Imperial Japanese Army troops to mainland China before being redeployed to the Third Battleship Division in 1941. On the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore. Haruna fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater during World War II. She covered the Japanese landings in Malaya (in 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, Haruna primarily remained at Truk Lagoon (Micronesia), Kure Naval Base (near Hiroshima), Sasebo Naval Base (near Nagasaki), and the Lingga Islands (in present-day Indonesia), and deployed on several occasions in response to American Carrier airstrikes on Japanese island bases. Haruna participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, engaging American vessels in the latter. In 1945, Haruna was transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 28 July 1945.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Battlecruiser Hiei pictured 16 days prior to her launch on Slipway No 2 at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on November 5th 1912.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Battlecruiser Hiei pictured under construction on Slipway No2, seven days before her launch on November 14th 1912 at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Battlecruiser Hiei pictured off Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on July 25th 1933, post her conversion to a Gunnery Training Ship to avoid being scrapped under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty... Starting in 1937, she again underwent a full-scale reconstruction that completely rebuilt her superstructure, upgraded her powerplant, and equipped her with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing fleet of Aircraft Carriers, she was reclassified as a fast Battleship. On the eve of the US entry into World War II, she sailed as part of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's Combined Fleet, escorting the six Carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941...As part of the Third Battleship Division, Hiei participated in many of the Imperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies as well as the Indian Ocean raid of April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, she sailed in the Invasion Force under Admiral Nobutake Kondō, before being redeployed to the Solomon Islands during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She escorted Japanese Carrier forces during the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands, before sailing as part of a bombardment force under Admiral Kondō during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. On the evening of November 13th 1942, Hiei engaged American Cruisers and Destroyers alongside her sister ship Kirishima. After inflicting heavy damage on American Cruisers and Destroyers, Hiei was crippled by USN vessels. Subjected to an air attack from the USS Enterprise, she was scuttled on the evening of November 14th 1942.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Lead Ship, Battlecruiser Kongō pictured in Dry Dock No 5 on November 29th 1930 at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal after having Torpedo Bulges fitted, also her existing boilers were removed and replaced with eleven oil-fired Kampon boilers. These upgraded boilers gave the Kongō and her sister ships much greater power, with the ships of the Class capable of speeds exceeding 30.5 knots. This made them the only Japanese Battleships at the time fully suited to operations alongside fast Aircraft Carriers.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Kongō Class Battleship Hiei pictured on sea trials post her major reconstruction refit, off Sukumo Bay on December 5th 1939.
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Brian James
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Re: Battlecruisers: Kongo Class

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Lead Ship, Dreadnought Battleship Kongō pictured under refit at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on December 24th 1928.. In November 1924, 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, 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.
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