Japanese battleship Kirishima

Uncommon card · No. 168022

Kirishima (Japanese: 霧島) was one of four Kongō-class battlecruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1910s. Completed in 1915, the ship played minor roles in World War I and the Second Sino-Japanese War, but she was very active during World War II. Kirishima patrolled on occasion off the Chinese coast during World War I, and helped with rescue efforts following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Starting in 1927, Kirishima's first reconstruction rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed. From 1934, a second reconstruction completely rebuilt her superstructure, upgraded her propulsion machinery, and equipped her with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, she was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kirishima acted primarily as a support vessel and troop transport, moving army troops to mainland China. On the eve of the Pacific War, she sailed as...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Shizuo Fukui, Public domain