The Wreck of IJN Haruna – The Last of the Kongos

The Kongo-class battleships/battlecruisers were worked hard by the Japanese. All four ships would see heavy action, and all four would ultimately be sunk. Hiei and Kirishima were lost off of Guadalcanal.

Kirishima's wreck was located by Robert Ballard in the '90s, and then surveyed in detail by RV Petrel a couple decades later. At which point they also located and surveyed Hiei.

Kongo was sunk in shallow water near Taiwan, so I would honestly be surprised if much of her is left.

Haruna, the last to be lost, endured until late July of 1945. Before finally sinking in port, during the massive air raids on Kure. Her wreck would be left in place, for at least a year, before scrapping began. In this video, we'll look at that wreck.

And the interesting question of when, exactly, that scrapping concluded.

Further Reading:
https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us...
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-...

Wreck Videos:
   • Wreck of the Japanese battlecruiser H...  
   • IJN Battleship HARUNA wreck at Kure  

Good Picture Source:
https://www.destinationsjourney.com/h...

Haruna Video:
   • IJN Haruna – A Survivor Until The Ver...