JAPAN MODERN WARSHIPS UPGRADE

Compounding the error, little to none of the support facilities based in Pearl Harbor - naval repair yards, fuel depots, logistics infrastructure - were attacked, allowing the United States to quickly recover and strike back with a vengeance from their primary naval base in the Pacific. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii of 7 December 1941 was a tactical victory but a strategic error, bringing into the war a nation that - while initially under-prepared and as yet unwilling to go to war - had near-limitless resources and unmatched production capabilities. While concentrating air assets into a single, cohesive force was as effective as it was revolutionary, their carriers were inadequately protected from counterattacks due to lack of radar, faulty design and configuration of anti-aircraft guns, as well as ineffective fire control systems. Design flaws - typically the results of cramming as much weaponry as possible into a limited displacement - caused certain ships to be top-heavy and unstable. However, several mistakes and oversights during the war resulted in their near-annihilation by the United States Navy. At the onset of World War II, the IJN was among the few navies who had properly adopted naval aviation and the only navy with fully developed torpedo assets, achieving stunning victories and technological innovations - sweeping successes in the Russo-Japanese and First Sino-Japanese Wars, the Battle of Tsushima, the sinkings of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, the deadly Type 93 'Long Lance' torpedo - and laying down classes of cruisers and destroyers that, despite being much older than their adversaries, remained among the most powerful of their class of any nation during the War.

Japan also readily looked to and accepted foreign input after the opening of their borders, from the rapid assimilation of foreign technology, to the frequent military exchanges with Dutch, French, British and United States navies, with plenty of naval students being sent to their naval academies and many ships (such as the Kongo) initially being purchased or built in their dockyards while Japan perfected her own shipbuilding capabilities. After taking part in the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf, Kongō would serve until November 1944 when it was sunk by a successful torpedo attack by the American submarine USS Sealion.As an island nation, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was consistently the forefront of Japan's military, characterized by advanced development of naval technology, quality shipbuilding and superb seamanship.

It took part in several major operations, including the Invasion of the Dutch East Indies, the Battle of Midway and also supported Japanese forces at Guadalcanal. As a result, Kongō was extensively upgraded on two occasions in the interwar period, not only vastly improving its characteristics but also noticeably changing its visual appearance.ĭuring WWII however, Kongō had a rather illustrious service record.

JAPAN MODERN WARSHIPS UPGRADE

With international agreements limiting naval power after WWI, Japan was forced to upgrade existing warships in order to maintain its fighting power. During WWI, IJN Kongō took part in minor operations but was quickly placed in reserve after the conflict. It was launched in May 1912 and completed in April 1913, subsequently entering service in August as the most advanced Japanese warship of its time. IJN Kongō was laid down in January 1911 as the lead ship of its class of modern battlecruisers to be built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. As a result, taking advantage of the existing naval cooperation agreement with Great Britain, Japan sought assistance from the Vickers company, who besides helping design a matching warship, also agreed to manufacture the lead ship, to be named Kongō, while the remaining ones would be built in Japan.

However, the problem persisted that Japanese shipyards simply lacked the technological know-how to build such warships at the time. After the Royal Navy commissioned the battlecruiser HMS Invincible into service in 1908, the IJN was quick to react with a plan to expand its fighting force with modern warships being approved already by the end of the decade.

Japan modern warships