Hiei file photo [1347]

Hiei

CountryJapan
Ship ClassKongo-class Battleship
BuilderYokosuka Naval Arsenal
Laid Down4 Nov 1911
Launched21 Nov 1912
Commissioned4 Aug 1914
Sunk14 Nov 1942
Displacement37,187 tons standard
Length728 feet
Beam101 feet
Draft32 feet
MachinerySteam turbines, 4 shafts
Speed30 knots
Range10,000nm at 14 knots
Crew1,360
Armament4x2x356mm/45cal guns, 16x152mm/50cal guns; As Built: 8x76mm 12pdr guns, 4x6.5mm machine guns, 4x2x533mm torpedo tubes; Post-1935: 8x127mm dual-purpose guns, 10x2x2.5cm Type 96 AA cannon
Armor8in belt amidships, 3in belt ends, 2.75in deck, 5-9in deck fore, 6-8in deck aft, 9in turrets, 10in conning tower
Aircraft2 operational, 0 in reserve

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe four Kongo-class ships were the first modern warships in the Japanese Navy. They were designed by Britain's Sir George Thurston, and strongly influenced the design of the forthcoming Tiger-class battlecruisers. They were originally rated as "battlecruisers", but pre-WW2 rearmament reclassified them as battleships. Before the reclassification, she proudly served as Emperor Hirohito's flagship during the Naval Review off Yokohama in late August 1933.

ww2dbaseAfter modernization, Hiei returned to active service in early 1940 and was again the Emperor's flagship at the Yokohama Naval review in October 1940. Her high speed made her very useful as a companion to aircraft carriers, and she was part of the striking force that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. In April 1942, Hiei took part in the powerful raid that bloodied the British Navy and merchant marine in the Indian Ocean area. She was a unit of the Covering Group during the Battle of Midway in early June and immediately thereafter was sent to the North Pacific to support Japanese operations in the Aleutian Islands.

ww2dbaseWhen the fight over Guadalcanal began in August 1942, Hiei was sent south to operate with other units of the Combined Fleet. She was present during both of the campaign's carrier actions, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in late August and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in late October. On 12 November 1942, Hiei was ordered toward Guadalcanal as flagship of a bombardment force that included her sister fast battleship Kirishima, a light cruiser and more than a dozen destroyers. Soon after midnight on Friday, 13 November, the Japanese were met by an American task force of five cruisers and eight destroyers. The resulting first night action of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was chaotic and bloody. Hiei was badly shot up by U.S. cruiser and destroyer guns, and may have suffered shock damage from torpedoes exploding nearby. While retiring from the battle, her steering failed, leaving her unmaneuverable only a short distance from Guadalcanal's American-held airfield. Through the following day, Hiei's crew struggled to regain steering control, while under constant attack by U.S. aircraft. However, she finally suffered a torpedo hit in the stern that destroyed all hope of escape. Soon after nightfall, her surviving crewmen were taken off and Hiei was left to sink some miles northward of Savo Island. She was the first of ten Japanese battleships lost to enemy action in World War II.

ww2dbaseSource: Naval Historical Center

Last Major Revision: Jan 2005

Battleship Hiei Interactive Map

Photographs

Japanese battlecruiser Hiei fitting out at Yokosuka, Japan, 20 Sep 1913Japanese battlecruiser Hiei departing Yokosuka en route to Kure, Japan, 23 Mar 1914Japanese battlecruiser Hiei at Yokosuka, Japan, 24 Aug 1914Japanese battlecruiser Hiei at Sasebo, Japan, 21 Dec 1915
See all 25 photographs of Battleship Hiei

Hiei Operational Timeline

12 Nov 1942 Destroyer Yukikaze engaged with USS Cushing and USS Laffey during the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, and then escorted the crippled battleship Hiei. Meanwhile, Yugure picked up Hiei survivors 5 miles northwest of Savo Island.
13 Nov 1942 Damaged in the naval battle before dawn, Hiei struggled to return to base. After persistent attacks by aircraft attacks, it was decided that she was to be scuttled. After all men were taken off, she was scuttled by torpedoes north of Savo Island in the Solomon Islands. She became the first Japanese battleship to be lost in combat.
31 Jan 2019 Research Vessel Petrel, operated by the firm Vulcan, conducted a visual inspection of a wreck under more than 3,200 feet of water. The wreck was initially discovered by sonar in 2018. The images taken by Petrel allowed researchers to positively identify the wreck as the battleship Hiei.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. hiro says:
31 Mar 2021 01:40:11 AM

hiei was flagship in 1933, please add both here at top "active 1933" and on battleship page 1933. that page lacks many such year number. change launch column to active then show 1933 for hiei and same style for others. tnx.

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Search WW2DB
More on Hiei
Personnel:
» Abe, Hiroaki
» Arima, Masafumi
» Kusaka, Jinichi
» Ota, Minoru

Event(s) Participated:
» New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 1, Bismarck Islands
» Guadalcanal Campaign
» Solomon Islands Campaign

Document(s):
» Interrogation Nav 46, Lieutenant Commander S. Yunoki

Related Books:
» Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45

Partner Sites Content:
» Hiei Tabular Record of Movement

Battleship Hiei Photo Gallery
Japanese battlecruiser Hiei fitting out at Yokosuka, Japan, 20 Sep 1913
See all 25 photographs of Battleship Hiei


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