![]() ![]() ![]() However, the Imperial Japanese Navy attempted to make good use of the warships during the Second World War. Yet, whilst officially classified as battleships, compared to the other capital warships of the late 1930s and 1940s, the Kongō-class was considered light-armed and lightly armored. The upgrades included additional armor, removal of the torpedo tubs and replacement of the boilers as well as the addition of anti-aircraft weapons. As a result, the warships were re-rated as battleships. However, the Kongō and her sister ships would go on to conflict the allies during the Second World War.ĭuring the inter-war years, all four of the Kongō-class battlecruisers were upgraded for that future conflict and the enhancements improved the propulsion and protection. The design changes also impressed the British Navy enough that she influenced the design of the forthcoming Tiger-class battlecruisers. Originally designated as a battlecruiser, she was based on Thurston’s design for the Turkish battleship Reşadiye, which was requisitioned by the British Navy at the start of the First World War and renamed HMS Erin. She was constructed at Barrow-in-Furness in the UK by the Vickers Shipbuilding Company, and was in fact, the last Japanese capital ship to be constructed outside of Japan, which had sought to profit from the study of British techniques by ordering the warship from the UK shipbuilders. The four ships of the class participated in most of the major engagements of the conflict, but actually what is also notable about this class is that the lead warship Kongō (“Indestructible Diamond” and named for Mount Kongō) was actually designed by British naval engineer Sir George Thurston. While not as powerful as the Yamato-class, the Kongō-class battleships were actually the most active capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. ![]()
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