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Japanese Battleship Hiei align="center" colspan="2"|
Hiei as a training ship, August 1933 | | lign ="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|Career | align ="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|Japanese Ensign | | rdered: | 1911 | | aid down: | 4 November 1911 | | aunched: | 21 November 1912 | | ommissioned: | 4 August 1914 | | ate: | Scuttled at Savo Island on 13 November 1942 | | olspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|General Characteristics | | isplacement: | 36,600 tons | | ength: | 728 ft 4 in (222 m) | | eam: | 101 ft 8 in (31 m) | | raught: | 31 ft 9 in (9.7 m) | | ropulsion: | | | peed: | 30 knots (56 km/h) | | ange: | 10,000 nm at 18 kts | | omplement: | 1360 | | rmament: | 8 x 14 inch (357 mm) guns, 16 x 6 inch (152 mm) guns, 8 x 5 inch (127 mm) DP, up to 118 × 25 mm AA | HIJMS ''Hiei (比叡), named for Mount Hiei north-east of Kyoto, was a Kongo class battleship laid down by the Yokosuka Kaigun Kosho on 4 November 1911, launched on 21 November 1912 and completed on 4 August 1914. Between the wars, her boilers were upgraded for speed and bilges were added for better defense against torpedoes. Kongo and Hiei were relatively fast for battleships and because they were able to keep up with the carrier battlegroups, both ships often accompanied it. However, their old design meant they were not effective against aircraft and both ships lacked air-search radar. Hiei steamed with the Striking Force during the attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, participated in the Battle of the Java Sea in March 1942, sortied into the Indian Ocean against the British Eastern Fleet with the Carrier Striking Force in April 1942, screened the carriers during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942 and the Battle of Santa Cruz Island in October 1942. HIJMS Hiei, commanded by Captain Nishida Masao, suffered thirty 8-inch shell hits from the cruisers USS San Francisco and Portland, and many 5-inch shells and two torpedoes from the destroyer Sterett during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. Her fire control systems for her main and secondary batteries were knocked out, her superstructure set afire and 188 of her crew killed. She was attacked repeatedly by Marine Grumman Avenger TBF torpedo planes from Henderson Field, TBFs and Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers from the Enterprise'' and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the United States Army Air Force 11th Heavy Bombardment Group from Espiritu Santo and suffered 70 sorties as she withdrew, and was scuttled by her crew. External links Hiei Hiei Image:Japanese training ship Hiei.jpg|Hiei as a training ship, August 1933 Image:HIJMS_Hiei.jpg|Japanese Battleship HIJMS Hiei
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