text: japanese battleship hiei hiei ( ) was a warship of the imperial japanese navy during world war i and world war ii . designed by british naval architect george thurston , she was the second launched of four kongō - class battlecruisers , among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built . laid down in 1911 at the yokosuka naval arsenal , hiei was formally commissioned in 1914 . she patrolled off the chinese coast on several occasions during world war i , and helped with rescue efforts following the 1923 great kantō earthquake . starting in 1929 , hiei was converted to a gunnery training ship to avoid being scrapped under the terms of the washington naval treaty . she served as emperor hirohito 's transport in the mid - 1930s . starting in 1937 , she 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 7 december 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 ( now indonesia ) 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 13 november 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 enemy vessels . subjected to continuous air attack , she sank on the evening of 14 november 1942 . design and construction hiei was the second of the imperial japanese navy 's kongō - class battlecruisers , a line of capital ships designed by the british naval architect george thurston . the class was ordered in 1910 in the japanese emergency naval expansion bill after the commissioning of hms invincible 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 versions of the british ( formerly turkish ) battleship hms erin . with their heavy armament and armor protection ( the latter of which made up 23 . 3 % of their approximately 30 , 000 ton displacement ) , hiei and her sister ships were vastly superior to any other japanese capital ship afloat at the time . the keel of hiei was laid down at yokosuka naval arsenal on 4 november 1911 , with most of the parts used in her construction manufactured in britain . she was launched on 21 november 1912 , and fitting - out began in december 1913 . on 15 december 1913 , captain takagi was assigned as her chief equipping officer . she was completed on 4 august 1914 . armament hiei 's main battery consisted of eight 14 - inch ( 36 cm ) heavy - caliber main guns in four twin turrets , two forward and 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 in the gun chambers . each of her main guns could fire high - explosive or armor - piercing shells 38 , 770 yards ( 19 . 14 nmi ; 35 . 45 km ) at a rate of two shells per minute . in keeping with the japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels than their opponents , hiei and her sister ships were the first vessels in the world equipped with 14 - inch ( 36 cm ) guns . the main guns carried ammunition for ninety shots and had an approximate gun - life of 250 – 280 shots . in 1941 , dyes were introduced for the armor - piercing shells of the four kongo - class battleships to assist their gunners in distinguishing the hits from a distance , with hiei 's armor - piercing shells using black dye . her secondary battery was originally sixteen 6 - inch ( 15 cm ) 50 - caliber medium guns in single casemates ( all located amidships ) , eight 3 - inch ( 7 . 6 cm ) guns and eight submerged 21 - inch ( 53 cm ) torpedo tubes . the sixteen 6 - inch / 50 caliber guns were capable of firing between 5 and 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 hiei made antiaircraft firing impractical . the eight 5 - inch / 40 caliber guns added later could fire between 8 and 14 rounds per minute , with a barrel life of 800 – 1500 rounds . these guns had the widest variety of shot type of hiei 's guns , being designed to fire antiaircraft , antiship , and illumination shells . hiei was also armed with a large number of 1 - inch ( 2 . 5 cm ) type 96 antiaircraft autocannons . service 1914 – 1929 : battlecruiser on 4 august 1914 , hiei was formally commissioned and assigned to the sasebo naval district , before being attached to the third battleship division of the first fleet two weeks later . on 23 august 1914 , japan declared war on the german empire , occupying the former german colonies in palau and in the caroline , marshall and mariana islands . in october 1914 , hiei departed sasebo alongside kongō to support imperial japanese army units in the siege of tsingtao , but she was recalled on 17 october . on 3 october 1915 , hiei and kongō participated in the sinking of imperator nikolai i , a russian pre - dreadnought captured in 1905 during the russo - japanese war that had subsequently served in the japanese navy under the name iki as a coastal defense ship . in april 1916 , she patrolled the chinese coast with her newly launched sisters kirishima and haruna . from 1917 to the end of world war i , hiei remained primarily at sasebo , patrolling the chinese and korean coasts with her sister ships on several occasions . 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 . due to japan 's warm relations with the british empire and the united states at the time , hiei and other japanese warships became significantly less active after the war . other than a patrol alongside haruna and kirishima off the chinese coast in march 1919 , hiei remained in the japanese home ports . on 13 october 1920 , she was placed in reserve . following the great kantō earthquake of september 1923 , the capital ships of the japanese navy assisted in rescue work until the end of the month . hiei arrived at kure naval base on 1 december 1923 for a refit which increased the elevation of her main guns from 20 to 33 degrees and rebuilt her foremast . with the conclusion of world war i , the world powers attempted to stem any militarization that might re - escalate into war . under the terms of washington naval treaty of 1922 , the imperial japanese navy was significantly reduced , with a ratio of 5 : 5 : 3 required between the capital ships of the united kingdom , the united states , and japan . the treaty also banned japan from building any new capital ships until 1931 , with no capital ship permitted to exceed 35 , 000 tons . provided that further additions did not exceed 3 , 000 tons , existing capital ships were allowed 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 fusō class ( e.g. yamashiro ) and ise - class battleships , and the kongō - class battlecruisers — remained active . in july 1927 , crown prince takamatsu — emperor hirohito 's younger brother — was assigned to hiei . from october to november 1927 , the ship underwent a minor refit at sasebo to accommodate two yokosuka e1y floatplanes , though no launch catapults were added . on 29 march 1928 , hiei departed sasebo alongside kongō and the battleships nagato and fusō to patrol off the chusan archipelago , before arriving in the company of kongō in port arthur in april 1928 . in october 1929 , she returned to kure in preparation for her demilitarization and reconstruction . 1929 – 1937 : and training ship to avoid having to scrap hiei under the terms of the washington treaty , the imperial japanese navy decided to convert her into a demilitarized training ship . on 15 october 1929 , she went into drydock at kure naval arsenal . her aft 14 - inch gun turrets were removed , and she was stripped of all eight of her submerged torpedo tubes , as well as her 6 - inch guns and armor belt . all but nine of her boilers were taken out , reducing her speed to 18 knots ( 33 km / h ) , and one of her three funnels was removed . she was reclassified as a reserve ship at the end of november 1929 . on 24 april 1930 , reconstruction was halted due to the signing of the london naval treaty , which further restricted battleship construction and possession amongst the great naval powers , and preservation work was begun at sasebo . reconstruction would not resume until july 1931 . in september 1931 , japanese army units invaded the chinese province of manchuria , transforming it into the puppet state of manchukuo . in december 1932 , hiei was reassigned to the imperial japanese navy 's training squadron . on 25 february , the league of nations ruled that japan had violated chinese sovereignty and international law in her invasion of manchuria . refusing to accept the league 's judgment , the empire of japan withdrew from the league the same day . this also signaled its exit from the washington and london naval treaties , which removed all restrictions on the imperial japanese navy 's construction of capital ships . from the end of may 1933 to 13 august , hiei received upgrades that allowed her to perform regular duties for the emperor , and she served as the emperor 's observation ship for the imperial naval review three days later . from january to march 1934 , her no. 4 turret and ammunition magazine were refitted . in november 1935 , hiei served as the emperor 's ship for his official visit to the kagoshima and miyazaki prefectures . 1937 – 1941 : reconstruction and fast battleship no longer bound by the restrictions of the washington and london treaties , the imperial japanese navy proceeded to reconstruct hiei along the same lines as her sisters . she received eight new oil - fired kampon boilers and geared turbines , while her stern was lengthened by 26 feet ( 7 . 9 m ) to increase speed . her aft 14 - inch turret was refitted and fire control systems installed for all four main turrets . the elevation of her main and secondary guns was increased , and she was equipped with two nakajima e8n " dave " and kawanishi e7k " alf " reconnaissance floatplanes . to this end , catapults and launch - rails were also fitted aft of turret # 3 . fourteen of her 6 - inch guns were refitted , and an antiaircraft suite of eight 5 - inch dual - purpose guns and ten twin mounts of type 96 25 mm autocannons were mounted . her superstructure was rebuilt as a prototype of the tower - mast that would eventually be used on the yamato class , then still in the design phase . hiei 's armor was also extensively upgraded . her main belt was reapplied and 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 5 to 8 inches ( 127 to 203 mm ) reinforced the main armored belt . the turret armor was strengthened to 10 inches ( 254 mm ) , while 4 inches ( 102 mm ) were added to portions of the deck armor . the armor around her ammunition magazines was also strengthened over the course of the refit . though still less heavily armored than other japanese battleships , hiei was significantly faster . the reconstruction was declared complete on 31 january 1940 . capable of speeds of up to 30 . 5 knots ( 56 . 5 km / h ; 35 . 1 mph ) , hiei was reclassified as a fast battleship . she participated in the imperial fleet review in october 1940 , where she was inspected by emperor hirohito , members of the royal family , navy minister oikawa , and admiral isoroku yamamoto . in november , she was assigned to the third battleship division of the first fleet . on 26 november 1941 , hiei departed hitokappu bay , kurile islands , in the company of kirishima and six japanese fast carriers of the first air fleet striking force ( akagi , kaga , sōryū , hiryū , shōkaku , and zuikaku ) under the command of vice - admiral chuichi nagumo . on 7 december 1941 , aircraft from these six carriers attacked the united states pacific fleet at their home base of pearl harbor , sinking four us navy battleships and numerous other vessels . following the attack and the declaration of war by the united states , hiei returned to japan . 1942 : combat and loss on 17 january 1942 , hiei departed truk lagoon naval base with the third battleship division to support carrier operations against rabaul and kavieng . in february , she deployed alongside a force of carriers and destroyers in response to american raids on japanese bases in the gilbert and marshall islands . on 1 march , following carrier operations against darwin and java ( in the dutch east indies ) , hiei , kirishima and chikuma — which were acting as escorts for the carrier task force — engaged the destroyer uss edsall , with hiei firing 210 14 - inch and seventy 6 - inch shells . when the ships failed to score any hits , dive - bombers from three of admiral nagumo 's carriers immobilized the destroyer , which was then sunk by gunfire from the three ships . in april 1942 , hiei and the third battleship division joined five fleet carriers and two cruisers in a massive raid against british naval forces in the indian ocean . on 5 april — easter sunday — the japanese fleet attacked the harbor at colombo , ceylon while seaplanes from the cruiser tone spotted two fleeing british cruisers , both of which were later sunk by aerial attack . on 8 april , japanese carrier aircraft attacked the royal navy base at trincomalee , only to find that all of admiral james somerville 's remaining warships in the british eastern fleet had withdrawn the previous night . returning from the attack , a floatplane from hiei 's sister ship haruna spotted the aircraft carrier hms hermes , which was quickly sunk by massive aerial attack . the fleet then returned to japan , arriving at the home bases on 23 april . on 27 may 1942 , hiei sortied with kongō and the heavy cruisers atago , chōkai , myōkō , and haguro as part of admiral nobutake kondō 's invasion force during the battle of midway . following the disastrous loss of four of the combined fleet 's fast carriers on 4 june , kondō 's force withdrew to japan . in july , hiei was drydocked for refits to her aircraft complement and the addition of single and twin 25 mm gun mounts . in august , she escorted the japanese carrier shōkaku during the battle of the eastern solomons . in october , hiei sortied as part of rear admiral abe 's vanguard force , and maintained distant cover as kongō and haruna nearly destroyed henderson field on guadalcanal on the night of 13 october . from 26 – 30 october , hiei and her sisters participated in the battle of the santa cruz islands . on 10 november 1942 , hiei departed truk alongside kirishima and eleven destroyers in preparation to shell american positions near henderson field in advance of a major convoy of japanese troops . under the command of rear admiral hiroaki abe , the force was spotted by us navy reconnaissance aircraft several days in advance . a force of two heavy cruisers , three light cruisers and eight destroyers was deployed under the command of rear admiral daniel j. callaghan in ironbottom sound to meet them . at 01 : 24 on 13 november , the japanese force was detected 28 , 000 yards ( 26 km ) out by the light cruiser uss helena . because abe had not anticipated resistance , his battleships ' main guns were loaded with high - explosive shells for bombarding henderson field , and thus they were unable to open fire immediately while the switch was made to armor - piercing shells . at 01 : 50 , hiei activated her searchlights and opened fire on the light cruiser uss atlanta , commencing the first naval battle of guadalcanal . though atlanta 's guns succeeded in disabling the searchlight , hiei was able to concentrate her main batteries on the bridge , crippling the light cruiser and killing rear admiral norman scott . hiei and kirishima then disabled two american destroyers ( one of which later sank ) . in turn , hiei became the target of the majority of the american firepower , with the american 5 - inch guns inflicting severe damage on hiei 's superstructure at close range ; admiral abe himself was later injured after uss laffey shelled the bridge with her own guns , killing his chief of staff , captain suzuki . this concentration enabled kirishima to evade the american barrage and cripple uss san francisco , killing admiral callaghan . however , shells from san francisco disabled hiei 's steering machinery . with one of his battleships crippled , abe ordered the remainder of the japanese fleet to withdraw at 02 : 00 . kirishima attempted to tow hiei to safety , but water flooded her steering compartments , jamming her rudder to starboard . throughout the morning of 14 november , hiei was subjected to attack from american army b - 17 flying fortress bombers . she continued circling starboard at 5 knots ( 5 . 8 mph ) . at 11 : 30 , two torpedoes launched from grumman tbf avenger torpedo - bombers struck hiei . after suffering several more torpedo and dive - bomber attacks throughout the day , the order was given for her crew to abandon ship before her escorting destroyers scuttled her . hiei sank sometime in the evening on 14 november with the loss of 188 of her crew , the first battleship ever lost in action by japan . she was removed from the navy list on 20 december 1942 .