The Wreck of IJN Hiei - Upside Down and Broken In Two
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- Опубліковано 25 січ 2025
- In the murky waters off Guadalcanal, many ships rest on the bottom. The two largest are the Kongo-class battlecruisers/battleships. Hiei and Kirishima.
These two ship sank in nearly identical fashion, breaking in two and rolling over as they fell to the bottom. Hiei, however, came out worse. Much more of her hull broke away, as we'll see in this video.
However, being as the ship is upside down, a lot of the most interesting bits are buried or missing. Still, I find this a fascinating wreck to look at.
(I will, ideally, cover Kirishima in a future video)
A bar room brawl with the lights out is how one book described it.
pictures at 9:12 and 9:27 Search-light-plattform from behind the bridge close to the formost secundary gun an slightly below the rangfinder...picture at 9:58...hard to identify but it lays topdown und the bottom is missing, central pipe with wires and kabels indicats to a kind of rangfinder
If you want to see more pictures of the wreck, check out an article by Robert Lundgren called the Naval Battle for Henderson Airfield. He believes she was hit by 6 torpedos on opposite side of hull that allowed her wreck to rip in half like the Titanic but backwards. There is a chance the forward half is still intact and maybe upright. Petrel never got time to look for it. Thank you for this great video!
As a pacific theater enthusiast, I love these videos, I feel like people need to learn more about this part of the war, especially since it's not talked about as much as the Western Front (well where I live anyway) you do great content man, keep it up 😊
What nobody has yet to fully expalin is why all Japanese Battleships lost at sea suffered magazine explosions. Kongo, Kirishima, Hiei, Yamato, Musashi, Fuso and Yamashiro were all documented as expoding as they, or after they sank. The wrecks of all those found show broken hulls.
If memory serves, Fuso, and Yamashiro both sank almost unobserved, but they did both suffer catastrophic detonations before they went under. Yamato, quite literally, went out with a scream as her forward magazine detonated as she rolled over, and Musashi did suffer a detonation, but I think she was already beneath the waves when her detonation occurred. I don't think Kirishima suffered a detonation, due to her wreck not showing any evident signs of a hull break, which is usually obvious as a result of a severe detonation. As Mr. Skynea stated, Hiei 'might' have suffered a detonation at her bow, but it's unclear if this break was due to an explosion, or the damage she already has sustained causing the hull to just rip apart at the bows.
To try and answer your question, I think the reason for so many Japanese capitol ships suffering these kinds of detonations was multi facet. As with Musashi and Yamato, they sank with almost a full stockpile of main battery ammunition, so when the ships did founder, it was only a matter of time before the damage reached those 'powder kegs', as it were. Fuso, and Yamashiro both sank under similar circumstances as the Yamato sisters, with an almost full load of main battery ammunition. There's some speculation that Fuso suffered a detonation due to her crew choosing to scuttle the battleship upon sighting PT boats shadowing her, but thanks to only 10 of her crew surviving, that answered will likely never be known. Yamashiro was used as punching bag for the Pear Harbor survivors she charged into, and her battle damage likely already started the fuse that would see her sink in a similar fashion to her sister and would see the same amount of survivors. As for Kongo, I honestly can't remember if the submarine that sent her to the bottom reported the sound of a detonation. If you're interested, there's actually a recording made at the time by a reporter who was living abord the sub, and it resulted in one of the only true audio recordings of life inside an American submarine while on war patrol during the second world war. The audio is pretty scratchy, and the fact that the recorder was placed inside the conning tower makes every noise echo a bit...but you can also hear the moment when the torpedoes slam into poor Kongo, and you can faintly hear the creaking, and screeching of her wreck as the slips beneath the waves.
Sorry to make this a long reply, but I hope I could fill in some details as to your inquiry. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help provide additional context, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day.
Volatile munitions maybe or fire damage internally maybe
The IJN BBs carried the bee hive shells that made with magnesium and thermite. When they were hit they started massive raging fires that vaporized the water used to put them out. This happened differently to some of them, but Musashi was completely destroyed when the thermite fire finally cooled down from 3000 degrees and the gases blew up. Same happened to Kirishima and Kongo bows. Yamato did not have these shells on her and she capsized similar to Hiei and rips around turret 2 setting off the ammo.
@@franksposato6072
I did not know that the Type 3 shell was equipped to be used on 14 in. batteries. I knew it was made for the guns on the Yamato and Nagato sisters, but I had never heard of it being made for the Kongo sisters, and the caliber of their main armaments.
Source check me if I'm not correct, but I thought Yamato Did have type three shells on board, because she fired a salvo from either one, or both of her bow guns at the initial wave of attacking aircraft that struck her during operation Ten Go. She never scored any kills with these shells, but I think some of the pilots recalled these bizarre shells explosions in their diaries/war journals. Again, if I'm wrong, I'd love to see which source you used so I can be more accurate in the future when discussing this topic. I pass the ball back to you, fellow military history nerd.
One could argue that most ships that exploded in combat possibly had damage in the magazine area .
Powder on fire or ammunition damaged ?
The story of the Kongo sisters is a particularly sad one for me. Four sisters built in Britian, proudly served the Imperial Japanese Navy, and only two sank close enough together that the souls of the wrecks might be able to find each other. Kongo, and Haruna were not afforded that luxury, with Haruna almost making it to the end of the war, and Kongo being lost to an American submarine in what would be fairly described as a mini-Operation Ten Go. Hiei was one of the first Japanese warships I ever learned about, and I used to even refer to the Kongo sisters as 'Hiei class battleships' (Shows how little I knew as a spry, and innocent military historian). I still think Hiei's last battle is one of the most awesome in the history of the pacific war. She went up against American heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, aircraft...and USS Laffy. I have never seen this incredible fight shown properly...but something tells me that might change in the not-so-distant future. (shhh, don't tell anyone that I'm working on a military history show, shhh)
I always adore your shipwreck vids!! I end up learning something new every time I watch them, and you always seem to find a way to tug on my heartstrings bit. Seeing Kirishima and Hiei's rudders stuck in the same position and having both capsized in almost identical fashion...was very poetic to me. Two sisters that went down fighting, and who now can rest in well-earned peace, alongside their valiant crews. Also, the fact that they are both almost a kilometer down significantly reduces the risk of illegal salvage, which has already claimed far too many of these hallowed sites. Here's to Hiei and Kirishima never being stirred from their rest, and to the crews who served aboard these once proud Battlecruisers.
Can't wait to see the vid on Kirishima, and what the poor girl looks like after getting mauled by USS Washington. Keep it up!!
I would love to see the show you're working on 🙂 btw, of the 4 Kongo-class battlecruisers, only Kongo herself was build in Britain, the other 3 were build in Japan, following of course the same design of the lead ship.
@@D4rkn3ss2000
Cheers for the correction! I could remember which ones were built in Japan vs which one was acquired abroad. I should have the first two episodes done by the end of the month...stay tuned.
Check out the article by Robert Lundgren called the Naval Battle for Henderson Airfield. He recreates the action minute by minute and discovered many interesting details never seen before. Drachinifel also covered his work in a video recently.
Only IJN Kongo was built in the UK the rest were built in Japan. Interestingly the UK tried to buy them during WW1.
romanticizing these shameful tools for hegemony & oppression disgusts me. well-earned peace? valiant crew? my asses. wait for us to come
The 25mm rounds are in what is left of the box magazine for the 25mm cannon. The brass casings will perhaps last another few centuries
Great Video, Thanks for Sharing !
I wonder if the rudders being jammed more or less the same way indicates a design vulnerability. I suppose the hits that caused the jamming could have been when both ships were turning the same way, but ...
Sky..another great video..and the artists rendition of the ships is just amazing..do you know who the artist were? these videos of sunken wreckage is very captivating..the moments of sinking is hard to imagine the horror of loss of young men..
RIP to all Naval soldiers that lost their lives...
Sailors, not soldiers.
“Naval soldiers” are generally called Sailors. Unless you’re talking about Marines.
@@cdfe3388and Marines will get a bit ‘annoyed’ if you call them ‘Soldiers’
@@philvanderlaan5942 Just slightly...
@@rutabagasteuwho cares?
Can I take a quick guess at the way the rudders are on both ships? I would suspect that torpedoes initially damaged the rudders in that position - both to starboard in this instance!! Would that be a possibility?
Nice comparison!
Fascinating. 👍🏻🏴
Rough to see. Regardless of what you think of Japan in WW2 (and, for the record, you *should* regard them as overall pretty heinous), these were beautiful ships - probably tied with HMS Tiger as the prettiest capital ships of all time. They just have that classic, race-built look to them - like razees during the Age of sail: powerful, but swift. But they were absolutely never battleships, regardless of what the Japanese called them - and a battlecruiser from WWI has no business in a knife-fights with American late 30s battleships (or, in Hiei's case, swarms of aircraft).
Throughout the war, the Kongos were just put into impossible positions that resulted in disaster or near-misses. Their speed made them indispensable, but they had been designed - like all battlecruisers - to serve as a fast scouting group in the van of a fleet; not engaging in slugging matches at 5,000 yards or trying to shoot down dozens of planes.
Though not intentional, I believe the Warhammer 40k Tank Commander meme, "Drive closer so I can hit them with my sword" applies to USS Laffey.
Bow broken off because of many close torpedo hits ? + some bombs.
Kirishima probably internal explosion due to pressure ? Seen some reports once
Is the petrel back into action?
Very interesting. Thanks man
Wth all these wrecks im curious if
1. The reports of the battles match the damage found.
2. The location of the wrecks match up with the location of the battles.
3. Are we able to recreate the shipwreck with 3D mapping photos an computers to get full visual on all of these wrecks.
It's truly unbelievable that both island nations Great Britain and Japan built some of the largest and most advanced navies in the world. The IJN built some incredible ships. They never seemed to be in a position to be used to full effectiveness after Pearl Harbor. Either the Japanese admirals and captains were to cautious or not cautious enough.
I always wondered, what if the Japanese had sent Yamato and Musashi to Guadalcanal that fateful night instead of a pair of Kongos?
I understand that USN fire control radar would’ve been a b•tch still, but those _real_ battleships could take those hits so much better than some 25 year old, upgraded battle cruiser ever could. South Dakota might just get more than her lights knocked out…
(and yes, I already know the reason why the IJN would have never sent their best BBs to Iron Bottom Sound: too slow to evade the next morning, aerial counterattack, too much fuel consumed just to get them there and back, and too not in keeping with the IJN’s Decisive Battle doctrine, to risk your best ships piecemeal, but it’s one of the more interesting what ifs to ponder in the Pacific War, just in the short term that is.)
well hiei did get hit by 7-8 bombs from 1000lb to 500lb and 5-8 torpedo's from b17's and enterprise's air groups so i think that extra pounding is what caused hiei to be in this very poor shape compared to kirishima who did not get torpedoed or bombed at all which is why she is in better shape then hiei
Don't let the Chinese near this historic wreck!!!
It’s crazy how many ships the Japanese scuttled in ww2
I believe that the pictures have been mislabeled, and these are actually pictures of Kirishima. If you google 'Kirishima Damage Analysis By Robert Lundgren' you will find that his description of the wreck and the pictures in this video match his paper on the Kirishima from 2010.
If I remember right the other wreck has some visible 16 inch holes in it.
Amazing how it seems that IJN wrecks are worse for wear than USN wrecks.
suprise 16inch shells yeah i hate those
When one reads about the battle then you wonder how Callaghan did his mission analysis. He had no battleships and 5 crusiers of which two, PORTLAND and SAN FRANCISCO could actually penetrate the armor of the KONGO's, all be it at point blank range. A lot of folks have criticized Callaghan's battle plan but the only way for the Americans to succeed was to close to point blank range and have a knife fight. I say this because, as the video states, the KONGO's were battlecrusiers at heart meaning they sacrificed armor for speed. Both HIEI and KIRISHIMA were surprised by the ferocity of the American attack and succumbed to damage that they were not designed against.
This appears to be a fatal flaw with British designed battlecrusiers.
Did the Hiei have 4 propellers or 3?
8:30 "5-inch guns for the Americans in the audience" Thank you! I was still doing the calculation in my head when you said that. We'll catch up with the rest of the world eventually, I hope.
I'm not switching to the metric system.
USN vs IJN was an epic fight.
I like the Kongo Class
They were beautiful ships and I love the pagoda masts that Japanese battleships had.
@@samkornrumph8545 I think they looked the best on these ships in particular.
@@samkornrumph8545 same here
I wonder if the reason they’re both upside down on the bottom is that the water wasn’t deep enough for them to right themselves before they hit the bottom.
Them pogoda masts must be pretty heavy lol
Did he say how deep this wreck was
that video name sounds like how my spine feels at times
Hard a port. Full revs.
I see UA-cam is deleting comments. I made a comment and answerd another and now they are both gone.
interesting...
A sad thing . Rip my fellow sailors ! 😢
I think all the pagoda type battleships landed upside down due to their being very top heavy.
They weren't top heavy
@@theccpisaparasite8813I heard theories about them acting as rudders when the ships capsized. I won't pretend to know the physics or geometry of that.
IEEEEE!!!
⚓
The photographers that took the pictures of the underwater wreck used very poor lighting. In my opinion.
That's how you pronounce the name?I asked a Japanese guy how to pronounce it, he didn't know how to and what the name met!
Hiei's superstructure was raked by 6" shells from the light cruisers and the armored sides by 8" fire almost point blank from San Francisco and Portland I think.
The pagoda masts pretty much ensured they would capsize.
Pagoda masts aren’t heavy enough to have a significant impact on them capsizing.
Japanese steel was garbage unlike their swords. They’ve come a long way especially lately.
Why would they steal garbage?
@@jester5ifysteel. Not steal. As to there swords, historic swords were made into decent steel. Swords made for issue during the war also were crap steel. The folded steel process came about due to Japanese iron ore being of such poor quality, they figured out how to improve it to a good quality steel.
@@jasonvant7714 No, it definitely says steal.
@@jester5ifyyou never had autocorrect or voice recognition go sideways on you? Now look at it and read intent, technology is imperfect or not always right.
@@jasonvant7714 Stop whinging, try proof reading before you post, or are you too lazy?