Hiei 1885
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| 金剛 [Kongo] | 306 | Earle, Hull, UK | 24.9.1875 | 17.4.1877 | 1.1878 | TS 1896, stricken 1909 | |
| 比叡 [Hiei] | Milford Haven SB, Pembroke, UK | 9.1875 | 12.6.1877 | 23.3.1878 | discarded 4.1911 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
2248 |
|
Displacement full, t |
3718 |
|
Length, m |
70.5 wl 67.1 pp |
|
Breadth, m |
12.5 |
|
Draught, m |
5.49 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 2-cyl HC, 6 cylindrical boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
Kongo: 2450 Hiei: 2490 |
|
Max speed, kts |
Kongo: 13.7 Hiei: 14 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 280 |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | 3100(10) |
|
Armour, mm |
compound - belt: 114 - 76 |
|
Armament |
3 x 1 - 173/17 RKL/20 C/67, 6 x 1 - 149/22 RKL/25 C/74, 2 x 1 - 75/11 KL/11 |
|
Complement |
314 |
Project history: The design of these armoured corvettes was prepared by Sir Edward Reed, and was based on the Russian General Admiral and the British Gem class cruisers. The composite-hulled Kongo and iron-hulled Hiei were ordered under the 1875 Programme. They were barque-rigged but the topmasts were subsequently removed during a refit in 1895.
Ship protection: Hull was protected by full length, thickness of the belt was 114mm abreast machinery and 76mm at ship ends.
Modernizations: 1880s, both: + 4 x 4 - 25/60 Nordenfelt Mk I, 2 x 5 - 11.9/94, 2 - 350 TT (bow)
1889, Hiei: was reboilered with 2 double-ended cylindrical boilers.
1897, both: + 2 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss Mk I
Naval service: Hiei was present at the Battle of the Yalu and was severely damaged by the Chinese battleships. The Kongo was involved in the Hawaiian Revolution in 1898, after which both ships were removed from the operational fleet and used as survey vessels.
Kongo 1878
Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.
© Ivan Gogin, 2014