Kongo was the lead ship of the four Kongo class battleships built by Japan in the years immediately preceding World War I. Originally laid down as fast, heavily armed battlecruisers, they were modernized several times, most notably in the mid-1930s, when they were reconstructed and transformed into fast battleships. They were the most active of Japan’s capital ships during World War II. All were eventually sunk during the war.

Kongo was designed by George Thurston, a renowned British naval engineer, and constructed by Vickers Shipbuilding Company in England. She was the last Japanese capitol ship constructed outside Japan. When completed, she was among the most heavily armed capitol ships in the world. During World War II, she participated in the Malaysian Campaign, the invasion of the Dutch East Indies, the Indian Ocean Raid, the Battle of Midway, the battles off Guadalcanal (most notably the bombardment of Henderson Field in company of sister Haruna on the night of October 13-14, 1942), the subsequent evacuation of Guadalcanal, numerous combat sorties in 1943, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf off Samar in 1944. She was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sealion while enroute with other fleet units back to Japan in late November, 1944. Over 1200 crewmembers were lost. 

Author Dr. Joseph Ed Low, along with his contributor Sander Kingsepp, has a diverse professional background and is a military/naval historian with a longstanding interest in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Dr. Low possesses one of the largest, known collections of reference material on the IJN and is highly proficient in creating digital illustrations and technical drawings. Mr. Kingsepp is an experienced translator who has contributed widely to many publications relating to the IJN and the Pacific War. Both are avid contributors to the Combined Fleet and related websites, and both have collaborated on various books and documentaries on IJN related material. 

(Disclaimer: I am personally acquainted with both Dr. Low and Mr. Kingsepp, but have no stake in this endeavor.)

This is the third book in the series on the Kongo class ships. The book is a large format paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, and 181 pages long. This is the same format as the prior Hiei volume, but considerably thicker, with an additional 60 plus pages. Like the Hiei book, the focus of this volume is a concentration on the various modifications that Kongo underwent throughout her lifetime. What makes this tracking effort impressive is that Dr. Low has managed a documented deep dive covering seventeen major and minor refits and reconstruction efforts over thirty years’ time. By comparison, the Hiei book covered eleven major and minor changes. Like the previous Kirishima and Hiei books, this is certainly the first book to attempt to chronicle all her changes, some of which had been previously undocumented. It does so with a combination of photographs, highly detailed drawings (particularly of the changes to her bridge superstructure), captioning, tables, and external profile views. 

A second section focuses on the antiaircraft weapons used by her throughout the years. Photos and 3D three-point renderings serve to highlight this section. As with the Hiei volume, and unlike the Kirishima book, there is no TROM (Tabulated Record of Movement). The book ends with several appendices, a truly extensive bibliography, and footnote listing. 

Repeating what I wrote for the Hiei volume, this is a meticulously researched and wonderfully illustrated book. The attention paid to all the specific fits and configurations is clearly a first for Kongo. For a model builder like myself who dwells on details, it's a fantastic reference. I love the level of detail that’s included, and the photos used to highlight certain areas. 

Much like the Kirishima and Hiei volumes, this is the best single volume reference on Kongo that I know of in English. 

Highly recommended. 

Review sample courtesy of my wallet, via Amazon.com. Price is US$44.99.