The Japanese Battleship Kongo-- Part 2: The Battle of Samar

The Kongo's main battery consisted of   eight 14inch guns in four twin turrets.  Secondary armament had sixteen 6-inch guns

From her completion  in England and commissioning into the Japanese Imperial Navy on 16 August 1913 until 1929, the Kongo was classified as a battlecruiser.  From 1929 to 1935, she was reconstructed as a battleship.  Then, from 1935 to 1941 she was again reconfigured into a fast battleship, one that cold keep up with Japan's increasing fleet of aircraft carriers.

I have already written about battles the Kongo participated in in my last post and will skip ahead to events leading up to her loss.

In October 1944, the Kongo departed Lingga in preparation for "Operation  Sho-1", Japan's counterattack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.  On 24 October, the Kongo escaped damage by attacks from several American aircraft in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea.  On 25 October, during the Battle of Samar, the Kongo -- as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force -- engaged the U.S. 7th Fleet's "Taffy 3", a battle group of escort carriers and destroyers.

She succeeded in scoring several hits on the escort carrier Gambier Bay (CVE-73) as well as the destroyers Hoel (DD-533) and Heerman (DD-532).  At 09:12 she sank the destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413).

After a fierce defensive action by the outgunned and manned American ships, which sank three Japanese heavy cruisers, Admiral Kurita withdrew, ending the battle.

While withdrawing, the Kongo suffered damage after five near misses from attacking aircraft.  The fleet arrived in Brunei on 28 October.

--GreGen

Naval Wreckage Found Off Philippines: Might Be the Wreck of the Destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557)

From the November 1, 2019, Archaeology publication.  U.S. Naval Institute News "World War II-Era wreckage  found in the Philippines."

Discovered over 20,000 feet deep in the Philippine Sea and may be all that is left of the destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557) which was sunk during the Battle of Samar on October 25, 1944.

It was found by a team of researchers from Vulcan Inc, a company founded by the late philanthropist Paul Allen.

During the battle, four Japanese battleships surprised the Johnston and other U.S. ships supporting troop landings on Leyte.  Only 141  of the Johnston's crew of 327 survived.

The wreckage includes unidentifiable pieces of twisted metal, a gun deck and a propeller shaft.  It will be necessary to find part of the ship's hull with the identification number or crew personal effects in order to positively id the ship.  Another Fletcher-Class destroyer, the USS Hoel (DD-533) was also in the area at the time of the battle and sunk.

There was a lot of confusion at the battle.

Always a Great Thing to Locate One of the Sunken Warships.  --GreGen