The Japanese battleship Kongō gained a storied reputation for her power and durability, earning dramatic nicknames like “Indestructible Diamond,” “Indra’s Spear,” and “Divine Thunder.” Serving through both World War I and World War II, she took part in some of the most decisive clashes of the Pacific Theater, including Midway, Guadalcanal, and Leyte Gulf.
With her exceptional speed, heavy armament, and resilient design, Kongō stood apart from other warships of her era—becoming a lasting symbol of Japan’s naval prowess and the enduring spirit of its fleet.
Construction of Kongō
Launched in January 1911, the battlecruiser Kongō was the creation of renowned British naval architect George Thurston. Unlike her sister ships—Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima—which were constructed in Japan, Kongō was built at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, England, giving her a distinctive place as the only vessel of her class produced abroad.
Just a few years later, in January 1914, Japan’s naval establishment was rocked by a major corruption scandal. A leaked telegram revealed that several high-ranking officials had accepted bribes from German and British arms manufacturers in return for favorable weapons contracts. The fallout was swift and severe: Prime Minister Yamamoto and his entire cabinet resigned, key industrial figures were dismissed, and Vice Admiral Matsumoto Kazu faced a court-martial that resulted in a three-year prison sentence.
Kongō was loaded with armaments
The battleship Kongō had eight 14-inch naval guns set in four twin turrets. These were the first guns of their kind to be installed on a warship and could fire both armor-piercing and high-explosive shells. The Japanese military relied heavily on Kongō’s powerful guns to gain an edge in battle, and her firepower was a big part of that strategy.
In addition to her main guns, Kongō was armed with 16 six-inch .50-caliber guns in single casemates, eight three-inch guns, and eight underwater 21-inch torpedo tubes. In 1929, she was upgraded and reclassified from a cruiser to a battleship. By October 1944, her secondary weapons had been updated to include eight six-inch guns, 122 Type 96 rapid-fire anti-aircraft cannons, and eight five-inch guns.
Service during World War I
Kongō was formally commissioned in August 1913 as a battlecruiser, and it didn’t take long for her to be pressed into service. At the outset of the First World War, she was sent to patrol German lines of communication at sea, before supporting Japanese units during the Siege of Tsingtao. Following the British defeat of Germany at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, there was little need for Kongō. As such, she was either kept at Sasebo Naval Base or on patrol near China for the remainder of the conflict.
Following WWI, world powers didn’t want to see another conflict and the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, placing restrictions on the building of new naval ships. This led to a decrease in the size of the Japanese Navy.
Interwar period and the start of World War II
In 1923, Kongō had the honor of carrying Crown Prince Hirohito, who would later ascend to the throne as Emperor, on an official visit to Taiwan. During the years leading up to World War II, the battleship underwent significant upgrades. Starting in 1929, the Japanese Empire began transforming Kongō from a cruiser into a fully-fledged battleship, a transformation completed by 1935. The ship’s speed was enhanced, and its armor, particularly around the ammunition magazines, was strengthened to better withstand enemy fire.
Kongō was actively engaged during the Second Sino-Japanese War, where it participated in bombing raids on the Chinese town of Fuzhou. When the Second World War erupted, Kongō was deployed to the Pacific theater.
On February 22, 1942, Kongō played a role in the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. Over the course of that year, the battleship took part in numerous naval engagements, sinking several British Empire ships as part of Japan’s campaign in the Pacific.
The loss of Kongō in the Formosa Strait
For Kongō and Japan, the start of the Pacific campaign went very well. However, the tides turned during the Battle of Midway with the loss of four of the Combined Fleet’s aircraft carriers. The ship also took part in the Guadalcanal Campaign, during which Henderson Field was bombarded with high-explosive shells in what was the most successful Japanese battleship action of the Second World War.
The next two major offensives the vessel took part in were the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. Kongō played an important role in Leyte Gulf, sinking multiple American vessels, including the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). Despite this, the battle resulted in a victory for the Allies.
Not long after, in November 1944, Kongō was spotted by the submarine USS Sealion (SS-315) in the Formosa Strait. The vessel fired six bow torpedoes at the battleship, two of which hit and flooded Kongō‘s boiler rooms. While she was able to escape the scene, the damage proved to be too much, with her sinking to the bottom of the strait after her forward 14-inch magazine exploded. Over 1,200 crewmen died.
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Kongō was the only Japanese battleship to be sunk by a submarine during WWII, while Sealion was the only Allied submarine to sink an enemy battleship.