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was a warship of the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Designed by British naval engineer
George Thurston Sir George Thurston KBE (1869 – 22 January 1950) was a British naval architect in the early half of the 20th century. Life and career Born Thomas George Owens in 1869, he trained in naval architecture in Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne and w ...
, she was the third launched of the four s.
Laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
in 1912 at the Mitsubishi Shipyards in
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
, ''Kirishima'' was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, . ''Kirishima'' patrolled on occasion off the Chinese coast during World War I, and helped with rescue efforts following the
1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...
. Starting in 1927, ''Kirishima''s first reconstruction rebuilt her as a
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
, strengthening her armor and improving her speed. From 1934, a second reconstruction completely rebuilt her
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
, upgraded her engine plant, and equipped her with launch catapults for
floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing
carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...
fleet, she was reclassified as a
fast battleship A fast battleship was a battleship which emphasised speed without – in concept – undue compromise of either armor or armament. Most of the early World War I-era dreadnought battleships were typically built with low design speeds, ...
. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, ''Kirishima'' acted primarily as a support vessel and troop transport, moving army troops to mainland China. On the eve of World War II, she sailed as part of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's ''
Kido Butai The , also known as the ''Kidō Butai'' ("Mobile Force"), was a name used for a combined carrier battle group comprising most of the aircraft carriers and carrier air groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the first eight months of the P ...
'' as an escort for the six carriers that
attacked Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
on 7 December 1941. As part of the Third Battleship Division, ''Kirishima'' participated in many of the Imperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for the invasion of the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(now Indonesia) and in the
Indian Ocean raid The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...
of April 1942. During the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
, she provided escort to Nagumo's four carriers, before redeploying to the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
during the
Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...
. She escorted Japanese carrier fleets during the battles of the Eastern Solomons and
Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...
, before sailing as part of a bombardment force under Admiral
Nobutake Kondō was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As commander of IJN 2nd Fleet, the Navy's principal detached force for independent operations, Kondō was regarded as second in importance only to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Biog ...
during the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...
. On the evening of 13 November 1942, ''Kirishima'' engaged American
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s and
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s alongside her sister ship . On the night of 14/15 November, in one of only two battleship duels of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
, ''Kirishima'' attacked and damaged the American battleship before being fatally crippled in turn by the battleship under the command of then Captain
Glenn B. Davis Glenn Benson Davis (January 2, 1892 – September 9, 1984) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral. He distinguished himself as Commanding officer of battleship USS ''Washington'' during the Naval ...
. ''Kirishima'' capsized and sank in the early morning on 15 November 1942 in
Ironbottom Sound "Ironbottom Sound" (alternatively Iron Bottom Sound or Ironbottomed Sound or Iron Bottom Bay) is the name given by Allied sailors to the stretch of water at the southern end of The Slot between Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Florida Island of t ...
.


Design and construction

''Kirishima'' was the third of the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
's s, a group of
capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...
s designed by the British naval engineer
George Thurston Sir George Thurston KBE (1869 – 22 January 1950) was a British naval architect in the early half of the 20th century. Life and career Born Thomas George Owens in 1869, he trained in naval architecture in Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne and w ...
. The class was ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of in 1908. The four battlecruisers of the ''Kongō'' class were designed to match the naval capabilities of the other major powers at the time; they have been called the battlecruiser version of the British (formerly
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
) battleship .Gardiner and Gray (1980), p. 234Jackson (2008), p. 27 With their heavy armament and armor protection (which took up 23.3% of their approximately 30,000 ton displacement), ''Kirishima'' and her sister ships were vastly superior to any other Japanese
capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...
afloat at the time. The
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
of ''Kirishima'' was laid down at the
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
shipyards of
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
on 17 March 1912, with most of the parts used in her construction manufactured in Japan. Due to a shortage of available
slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
s, ''Kirishima'' and her sister ship were the first two capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy to be built in private Japanese shipyards. After her launch on 1 December 1913, ''Kirishima''s
fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
began later that month. On 15 December 1914, Captain Kamaya Rokuro was assigned as her chief equipping officer, and she was completed on 19 April 1915.


Armament

''Kirishima''s main battery consisted of eight heavy-caliber main guns in four twin turrets (two forward, two aft). The turrets were noted by the US Office of Naval Intelligence to be "similar to the British 15-inch turrets", with improvements made in flash-tightness. Each of her main guns could fire high-explosive or armor-piercing shells a maximum distance of at a firing rate of two shells per minute. The ship's magazines could accommodate ninety rounds of ammunition for each of the main guns, which had an approximate barrel life of 250–280 shots. In 1941, dyes were introduced for the armor-piercing shells of the four ''Kongō''-class battleships, with ''Kirishima''s shells using blue dye. Her
secondary battery A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...
was originally sixteen 50-caliber medium guns in single
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
s (all located amidships), eight
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
guns, and eight submerged torpedo tubes. The sixteen 6-inch/50 caliber guns were capable of firing 5–6 rounds per minute, with a barrel life of 500 rounds. The 6-inch/50 caliber gun was capable of firing both antiaircraft and antiship shells, though the positioning of the guns on ''Kirishima'' made antiaircraft firing impractical. During her second reconstruction, the 3-inch guns were removed and replaced with eight guns. These guns could fire between 8 and 14 rounds per minute, with a barrel life of 800–1500 rounds. Designed to fire antiaircraft, antiship, and illumination shells, the 5-inch/40 caliber had the widest variety of shot type of ''Kirishima''s guns. During her second reconstruction, ''Kirishima'' was also fitted with a small number of Type 96 antiaircraft autocannons.


Service


1914–1927: Battlecruiser

''Kirishima'' was formally commissioned on 19 April 1915, and along with was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division of the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
. After seven months of trials, she was reassigned to the 3rd Battleship Division of the
Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...
, with Captain Shima Takeshi in overall command of the ship. In April 1916, ''Kirishima'' and ''Haruna'' departed
Sasebo Naval Base U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy base, in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United State ...
to patrol the
East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
for ten days. She remained in Sasebo until April 1917, when she again deployed to the Chinese coast with her sister ships ''Haruna'' and . Her last patrol operation of World War I was off the Chinese and Korean coast in April 1918. In July 1918, ''Kirishima'' acted as the transport of
Prince Arthur of Connaught Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938) was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 1920 ...
for his extended cruise to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, before returning to Japan. Following the end of World War I, the Japanese Empire gained control of former German possessions in the central Pacific per the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. Due to Japan's warm relations with the British Empire and the United States at the time, ''Kirishima'' and other Japanese warships became significantly less active than during the war. On 1 December 1920, she was reassigned to the Third Division of the Second Fleet. Other than a patrol alongside ''Kongō'' and off the Chinese coast in August 1921, ''Kirishima'' remained in Sasebo. On 10 September 1922, she collided with the destroyer during fleet maneuvers, with both ships sustaining minor damage. Following the
Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
of September 1923, the capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy assisted in rescue work until the end of the month. She was placed in reserve in December 1923. With the conclusion of World War I and the signing of the
Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
, the size of the Imperial Japanese Navy was significantly lessened, with a ratio of 5:5:3 required between the capital ships of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.Jackson (2000), p. 67 The treaty also banned Japan from building any new capital ships until 1931, with no capital ship permitted to exceed 35,000 tons.Jackson (2000), p. 68 Provided that new additions did not exceed 3,000 tons, existing capital ships were permitted to be upgraded with improved torpedo bulges and deck armor. By the time the Washington Treaty had been fully implemented in Japan, only three classes of World War I-era capital ships—the and battleships, and the ''Kongō''-class battlecruisers—remained active.


1927–1934: Battleship

Stripped of the ability to construct new capital ships, the Imperial Japanese Navy instead opted to significantly upgrade and reconfigure their existing battleships and battlecruisers. ''Kirishima'' was placed in Third Reserve in December 1926, before beginning her first reconstruction in early 1927. Horizontal armor over the ammunition magazines was strengthened, and she was also fitted with anti-torpedo bulges, as permitted by the Washington Treaty. To upgrade ''Kirishima''s speed, the 36 coal-fired
Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...
boilers were removed and replaced with ten new mixed-firing Kampon boilers. To allow for more equipment to be installed on board, her forward superstructure was reconstructed in the
Pagoda mast A pagoda mast was a type of superstructure erected on a tripod mast that was common on Japanese capital ships that were reconstructed during the 1930s in a bid to improve their fighting performance. These modifications were deemed to be necessa ...
style, facilitating the removal of one of her three funnels. The reconstruction of the ''Kongō''-class battlecruisers added an additional 4,000 tons of armor to the ships, directly violating the terms of the Washington Treaty.Jackson (2008), p. 27 On 16 April 1930, the reconstruction was declared complete. Six days after ''Kirishima''s reconstruction was completed, Japan pledged to scrap several battleships and signed the
London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...
, which placed further bans on capital ship construction until 1937. From August to October 1930, she was outfitted with the equipment necessary to equip reconnaissance seaplanes. ''Kirishima'' patrolled the coast of China near
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
in April 1932, before she was again placed in the Third Reserve. In September 1931, Japan invaded
Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
. On 25 February 1933, based on a report by the
Lytton Commission are the findings of the Lytton Commission, entrusted in 1931 by the League of Nations in an attempt to evaluate the Mukden Incident, which led to the Empire of Japan's seizure of Manchuria. The five-member commission headed by British politicia ...
, the League of Nations agreed that Japan had violated Chinese sovereignty in its invasion of Manchuria.Jackson (2000), p. 72 Refusing to accept the organization's judgment, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations the same day. Immediately following, Japan also withdrew from the Washington and London Naval Treaties, thus removing all restrictions on the number and size of her capital ships.


1934–1941: Fast battleship

On 18 November 1934, ''Kirishima'' was drydocked in
Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...
in preparation for her second reconstruction, which would enable her to function alongside Japan's growing fleet of fast carriers. Her stern was lengthened by , while her superstructure was rebuilt to allow for new fire-control mechanisms. Her boilers were removed and replaced with eight new oil-fired Kampon Boilers, and she received newer geared turbines. The elevation of her main and secondary battery was increased, and she was equipped with two Nakajima E8N "Dave" and Kawanishi E7K "Alf" reconnaissance
floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s. To this end,
aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...
s and launch-rails were also refitted. Her older 3-inch guns were removed and replaced with eight 5-inch dual-purpose guns. She was also outfitted with twenty Type 96 25 mm antiaircraft guns in twin turrets, while two of her 6-inch guns and her remaining torpedo tubes were removed.Stille, p. 17 ''Kirishima''s armor was also extensively upgraded. Her main belt was strengthened to a uniform thickness of 8 inches (as opposed to varying thicknesses of 6–8 inches before the upgrades), while diagonal bulkheads of a depth ranging from reinforced the main armored belt.McCurtie, p. 185 The turret armor was strengthened to , while were added to portions of the deck armor. The armor around her ammunition magazines was also strengthened over the course of the refit. The reconstruction was declared complete on 8 June 1936. Capable of speeds of up to , ''Kirishima'' was reclassified as a fast battleship.Willmott, p. 35 In August 1936, ''Kirishima'' departed Sasebo alongside to patrol the Chinese coast off
Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
. From March 1937 to April 1939, she was frequently deployed as a support vessel and troop transport during the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. In November 1938, ''Kirishima'' was designated the command vessel of the Third Battleship Division, and was under the command of Rear Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. In November 1939, she was placed in reserve and fitted with additional armor on the front faces of her turrets and barbettes. On 11 November 1941, after a series of transfers between Japanese naval bases, ''Kirishima'' was outfitted in preparation for coming hostilities and assigned—alongside her sister ships—to the Third Battleship Division. On 26 November, ''Kirishima'' departed
Hitokappu Bay Kasatka Bay ( rus, Залив Касатка, Zaliv Kasatka), formerly known by its Japanese name , is a natural harbor at the central part of Iturup, Kuril Islands. It has been controlled by the Soviet Union since the Soviets annexed the Kuril ...
,
Kurile Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
in the company of ''Hiei'' and six Japanese fast carriers of the First Air Fleet Striking Force (, , , , , and ). On 7 December 1941, aircraft from these six carriers attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at their home base of
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, sinking four U.S. Navy battleships and numerous other vessels. Following the attack and the declaration of war by the United States, ''Kirishima'' returned to Japan.


1942: Combat and loss

On 8 January 1942, ''Kirishima'' departed Japan for Truk Naval Base in the
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
alongside the Carrier Strike Force. She provided escort during the invasion of
New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
on 17 January before returning to Truk. She sortied again in response to American carrier raids in the
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
and
Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...
. In March 1942, while supporting fleet operations off of
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
in the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
, one of ''Kirishima''s floatplanes bombed an enemy merchant vessel. South of Java, the Japanese fleet was surprised by the appearance of the destroyer . ''Hiei'' and initially opened fire on the ship but failed to score any hits. After
dive-bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact through ...
s from three of Admiral Nagumo's carriers immobilized the destroyer, ''Kirishima'' and the other two ships resumed firing on ''Edsall'' until she sank. In April 1942, ''Kirishima'' and the Third Battleship division joined five fleet carriers and two cruisers in an attack against British naval bases in the Indian Ocean. On 5 April—Easter Sunday—the Japanese fleet attacked the harbor at
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
in
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, while seaplanes from the spotted two fleeing British cruisers, both of which were later sunk by aerial attack. A floatplane from ''Kirishima'' also strafed a withdrawing
oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...
. On 8 April, Japanese carrier aircraft attacked the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
base at
Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
in Ceylon, only to find that all of Admiral
James Somerville Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville, (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing naval supp ...
's remaining warships had withdrawn the previous night. Returning from the attack, a floatplane from ''Kirishima''s sister ship ''Haruna'' spotted the aircraft carrier and escorting destroyer , which were quickly sunk by a massive aerial attack. Upon returning to Japan, ''Kirishima'' was drydocked and her secondary armament configuration modified with the addition of 25 mm antiaircraft guns in twin mounts. In June 1942, ''Kirishima'' sailed as part of the Carrier Strike Force during the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
, providing escort for Admiral Nagumo's four fast carriers alongside ''Haruna''.Stille, p. 19 Following the disastrous battle, during which all four Japanese aircraft carriers were destroyed, she took on survivors from the carriers before returning to Japan. In August 1942, she departed Japan for the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
in the company of ''Hiei'', three carriers, three cruisers and eleven destroyers, in response to the American invasion of Guadalcanal. She escorted Japanese carriers during the
Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific ca ...
, during which the light carrier was sunk. Following the battle, the fleet returned to Truk Naval Base. During the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...
, ''Kirishima'' was part of Rear Admiral
Hiroaki Abe was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Early career Abe was born in Yonezawa city in Yamagata prefecture in northern Japan. He graduated from the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ...
's Vanguard Force, which provided distant cover to Nagumo's carrier groups. She was attacked by American dive-bombers on 26 October, yet remained undamaged. On 10 November 1942, ''Kirishima'' departed Truk alongside ''Hiei'' and eleven destroyers in preparation to shell American positions on
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
in advance of a major transport convoy of Japanese troops. U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft spotted the Japanese fleet several days in advance, and a U. S. Navy force of two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and eight destroyers was deployed under the command of Rear Admiral
Daniel J. Callaghan Daniel Judson Callaghan (July 26, 1890 – November 13, 1942) was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. In a three-decades-long career, he served h ...
in
Ironbottom Sound "Ironbottom Sound" (alternatively Iron Bottom Sound or Ironbottomed Sound or Iron Bottom Bay) is the name given by Allied sailors to the stretch of water at the southern end of The Slot between Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Florida Island of t ...
to meet them. At 01:24 on 13 November, the Japanese force was detected out by the light cruiser . In the ensuing
First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...
, the American task force concentrated the majority of their firepower on the battleship ''Hiei''. This enabled ''Kirishima'' to score multiple hits on the ''Helena'' and heavy cruiser . Both ''Hiei'' and ''Kirishima'' then raked ''San Francisco'' with shellfire, killing Rear Admiral Callaghan. However, ''Hiei'' was in turn crippled by ''San Francisco'' and several American destroyers. With ''Hiei'' effectively out of the battle, ''Kirishima'' and the surviving destroyers withdrew to the north. On the morning of 13 November, she was ordered to tow ''Hiei'' to safety. However, the heavily damaged battleship came under air attack, and was eventually abandoned and scuttled.Stille, p. 20 On the evening of 13 November, ''Kirishima'' and her escorting destroyers were joined by the Fourth Cruiser Division and prepared to reenter Savo Sound, the Solomon Islands - "Ironbottom Sound" under the command of Admiral
Nobutake Kondō was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As commander of IJN 2nd Fleet, the Navy's principal detached force for independent operations, Kondō was regarded as second in importance only to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Biog ...
. In the early morning of 14 November, three Japanese heavy cruisers bombarded Guadalcanal before withdrawing. Aware of the damage suffered by his ships the previous night, Admiral
William Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...
reinforced the American naval units with the new battleships and . The two fleets made contact on 14 November at 23:01. They exchanged gunfire and torpedoes, with four American destroyers disabled (three would later sink), while the destroyer was crippled by ''Washington'' and ''South Dakota''. ''Kirishima'' and the heavy cruiser illuminated ''South Dakota'' with searchlights, and almost all of Kondō's force opened fire on her. ''Kirishima'' achieved hits on ''South Dakota'' with at least three 14-inch salvos, which failed to penetrate her armor, and several salvos from her secondary battery, which knocked out the battleship's fire control systems and communications. At 23:40, ''South Dakota'' suffered a series of electrical failures, crippling her radar, radios and gun batteries.Schom, p. 424 ''Washington'', undetected, started firing at midnight on ''Kirishima'' from , point-blank range for ''Washington''s 16-inch/45-caliber guns, which were easily capable of penetrating ''Kirishima''s armor at their maximum range.Garzke and Dulin, p. 44 ''Kirishima'' was hit by at least twenty primary and seventeen secondary battery projectiles, penetrating the magazines for her forward 14-inch turrets (the magazines were flooded before they detonated), destroying the hydraulic pumps which jammed her rear 14-inch turrets and steering, setting her superstructure afire, and causing flooding that led to an 18 degree list to starboard. Initially, the light cruiser attempted to tow her out of Ironbottom Sound. When it became clear she could not be salvaged, the surviving Japanese destroyers evacuated Captain Iwabuchi and the remaining survivors. ''Kirishima'' capsized and sank at 03:25 on the morning of 15 November 1942, with 212 crewmen lost.


Wreck

''Kirishima''s wreck was discovered by
Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...
during an expedition to map the wrecks from the
Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...
in 1992. She lies upside down, with her bow section missing from the bridge forward due to a magazine explosion. Her anchor chain is wrapped around her stern section. Ballard's investigation of the wreck unfortunately was aborted due to a technical emergency, resulting in the dive only lasting some nine minutes. This severely limited any information or images obtained. A further expedition to the wreck by
Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...
's in January 2019 provided detailed information on both the damage received during the battle and confirms the subsequent detonation of her forward main magazines during the sinking process.


Notes


Footnotes


Citations


References

* * * * * * Jackson, Robert (2000). ''The World's Great Battleships''. Brown Books. * Jackson, Robert (editor) (2008). ''101 Great Warships''. London. Amber Books. * * * * * McCurtie, Francis (1989)
945 Year 945 ( CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barely ...
''Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II''. London: Bracken Books. * * * Stille, Cdr Mark (2008). ''Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship 1941–1945''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. * * Willmott, H.P. & Keegan, John
999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...
(2002). ''The Second World War in the Far East''. Smithsonian Books.


External links

*
Construction of ''Kirishima''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirishima Kongō-class battlecruisers Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1913 ships Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan World War II battleships of Japan Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound Maritime incidents in November 1942 1992 archaeological discoveries