- Japanese battleship Hiei
March 1 ,1942 , took part in theIndian Ocean raid against theBritish Eastern Fleet with the Carrier Striking Force in April 1942, screened the invasion fleet during theBattle of Midway in June 1942, participated in theBattle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942, and theBattle of Santa Cruz Island in October 1942.Battle of Guadalcanal
During the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on13 November 1942 , "Hiei" was lost. "Hiei", commanded by CaptainNishida Masao and carrying the flag of Vice AdmiralAbe Hiroaki , was assigned along with the battleship "Kirishima ", the task of bombarding Henderson Field and putting it out of action. Intercepted by an American cruiser task force, she suffered thirty 203 mm (8 in) shell hits from the cruisers USS|San Francisco|CA-38|6 and USS|Portland|CA-33|6, and many 127 mm (5 in) shell hits from anti-aircraft cruisers anddestroyer s. Her fire control systems for her main and secondary batteries were knocked out, her superstructure set afire and 188 of her crew killed. Most important was damage to her steering gear, making withdrawal that night impossible. After daybreak she was attacked repeatedly by MarineGrumman Avenger TBF torpedo planes from Henderson Field, Avengers andDouglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers from the USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6, andB-17 Flying Fortress bombers of theUnited States Army Air Forces 11th Heavy Bombardment Group onEspiritu Santo . "Hiei" endured 70 attack sorties as she attempted to withdraw and was further damaged with bombs and torpedoes, resulting in an order to abandon ship. Whether her sinking resulted from the final air attacks or if she was scuttled by her crew is still debated, as no American saw her go under. [http://www.combinedfleet.com/atully03.htm]Commanding Officers
* Chief Equipping Officer - Capt. Shichitaro Takagi - 20 September 1913 - 4 August 1914
* Capt. Shichitaro Takagi - 4 August 1914 - 13 December 1915
* Capt. Hiroharu Kato - 13 December 1915 - 1 December 1916
* Capt. Terufusa Hori - 1 December 1916 - 16 July 1917
* Capt. Masaki Nakamura - 16 July 1917 - 1 December 1917
* Capt. Shozo Kuwashima - 1 December 1917 - 1 December 1918
* Capt. Yasuhira Yoshikawa - 1 December 1918 - 1 December 1919
* Capt. Kumazo Shirane - 1 December 1919 - 12 August 1920
* Capt. Kikuo Matsumura - 12 August 1920 - 20 November 1920
* Capt. Tanetsugu Sosa - 20 November 1920 - 10 November 1922
* Capt. Joji Yokochi - 10 November 1922 - 1 December 1923
* Capt. Susumu Nakajima - 1 December 1923 - 1 December 1924
* Teijiro Murase - 1 December 1924 - 16 June 1925
* Capt. Meijiro Tachi - 16 June 1925 - 20 August 1926
* Capt. Ikuo Okamoto - 20 August 1926 - 1 December 1927
* Capt. Hiroshi Ono - 1 December 1927 - 10 December 1928
* Capt.Shigetarō Shimada - 10 December 1928 - 30 November 1929
* Capt. Jiro Ishii - 30 November 1929 - 1 December 1930
* Capt. Senzo Wada - 1 December 1930 - 10 May 1932
* Capt. Kunji Tange - 10 May 1932 - 1 December 1932
* Capt. Masaichi Maeda - 1 December 1932 - 23 February 1933
* Kenichi Sata - 23 February 1933 - 15 November 1933
* Capt.Shigeyoshi Inoue - 15 November 1933 - 1 August 1935
* Capt. Denshichi Okawachi - 1 August 1935 - 1 April 1936
* Capt. Ayao Inagaki - 1 April 1936 - 1 December 1936
* Capt. Kohei Ochi - 1 December 1936 - 1 December 1937
* Capt. Muneshige Aoyagi - 1 December 1937 - 15 November 1938
* Capt. Kumeichi Hiraoka - 15 November 1938 - 15 November 1939
* Capt.Kōsō Abe - 15 November 1939 - 15 October 1940
* Capt. Kaoru Arima - 15 October 1940 - 10 September 1941
* Capt. Masao Nishida - 10 September 1941 - 13 November 1942External links
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/japan/battleships/hiei_page_1.htm Maritimequest.com: "Hiei" photo gallery]
* [http://www.combinedfleet.com/hiei.htm Tabular record of movement] from combinedfleet.com
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