Kongō (金剛, "Indestructible Diamond", named for Mount Kongō) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. She was the first battlecruiser of the Kongō class, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Her designer was the British naval engineer George Thurston, and she was laid down in 1911 at Barrow-in-Furness in Britain by Vickers Shipbuilding Company. Kongō was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan. She was formally commissioned in 1913, and patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I.

Name: Kongō Namesake: Mount Kongō Ordered: 1911 Builder: Vickers Shipbuilding Company, Barrow-in-Furness Laid down: 17 January 1911 Launched: 18 May 1912 Commissioned: 16 August 1913 Struck: 20 January 1945 Fate: Sunk by USS Sealion in the Formosa Strait, 21 November 1944 General characteristics Class and type: Kongō-class battlecruiser Displacement: 36,600 long tons (37,187 t)[1] Length: 222 m (728 ft 4 in)[1] Beam: 31 m (101 ft 8 in)[1] Draught: 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)[1] Propulsion: Steam turbines, 4 shafts Speed: 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h)[1] Range: 10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h)[1] Complement: 1360 Armament: 1913: 8 × 356 mm (14 in) naval gun (4×2)[1] 16 × 6-inch (15 cm) 50 caliber naval guns (16×1)[2] 8 × 76 mm (3 in) naval guns (8×1)[1] 4 × 6.5 mm (0.26 in) machine gun[3] 8 × submerged 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes[3] 1944: 8 × 356 mm (14 in) naval gun (4×2)[1] 8 × 152 mm (6 in) naval gun (8×1)[1] 8 × 127 mm (5.0 in) guns (4×2)[1] 122 × 25 mm Type 96 Antiaircraft autocannon [4] Armor: Decks: 2.3–1.5 in (58–38 mm) (later strengthened +101 mm on ammo storage, +76 mm on engine room) Turrets: 9 in (230 mm) Barbettes: 10 in (250 mm) Belt: 8–11 in (200–280 mm)