The Kongos were the only battleships in the Japanese Navy fast enough to effectively escort fast carriers. In many respects the most useful of Japanese battleships as even the mighty Yamatos were a bit too slow and too much of a fuel hog to commit to the Solomons. However, they were rather lightly armored even after their modernization, and this proved fatal in the Solomons campaign, where Hiei was crippled by heavy cruiser fire and Kirishima succumbed to a devastating volley of radar-directed 16-inch shells from the more modern BB Washington.
Hiei was acknowledged to be the Emperor's favorite warship.
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