Japanese battleship Haruna

Haruna in 1934, following her second reconstruction
History
Japan
Name	Haruna
Namesake	Mount Haruna
Ordered	1911
Builder	Kawasaki Shipyards
Laid down	16 March 1912
Launched	14 December 1913
Commissioned	19 April 1915
Fate	Sunk at her moorings on 28 July 1945; raised and scrapped in 1946[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Kongō-class battlecruiser
Displacement	36,600 long tons (37,187 t)
Length	222 m (728 ft 4 in)[1]
Beam	31 m (101 ft 8 in)[1]
Draft	9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
Installed power	64,000 shp (48,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Brown-Curtis turbines 4 × shafts[2]
Speed	1915–1934: 26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph)[1] 1934–1945: 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)[1]
Complement	1,360[1]
Armament	1915: 8 × 356 mm (14 in) guns (4×2)[3] 16 × 152 mm (6 in) guns (16×1)[3] 8 × 76 mm (3 in) guns (8×1)[4] 8 × 530 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (submerged)[4] 1945: 8 × 356 mm (14 in) (4×2)[3] 8 × 152 mm (6 in) guns (8×1)[3] 12 × 127 mm (5 in)/40 guns (6×2)[4] 108 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Type 96 AA guns[4]
Armor	Turrets: 9 in (230 mm)[3] Belt: 8 in (200 mm)[3] Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm)–2.75 in (70 mm)[3]
Aircraft carried	3 × reconnaissance floatplanes[3]
Notes	Unless otherwise noted, all statistics apply to after the second reconstruction.

Haruna (榛名) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston and named after Mount Haruna, she was the fourth and last battlecruiser of the Kongō class, amongst the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1912 at the Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe, Haruna was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Kirishima. Haruna patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I. During gunnery drills in 1920, an explosion destroyed one of her guns, damaged the gun turret, and killed seven men.

During her career, Haruna underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1926, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1933, her superstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, Haruna was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Haruna transported Imperial Japanese Army troops to mainland China before being redeployed to the 3rd Battleship Division in 1941. On the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore.

Haruna fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater during World War II. She covered the Japanese landings in Malaya (in present-day Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1942 before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway and during the Guadalcanal Campaign. Throughout 1943, Haruna primarily remained at Truk Lagoon (Micronesia), Kure Naval Base (near Hiroshima), Sasebo Naval Base (near Nagasaki), and the Lingga Islands (in present-day Indonesia), and deployed on several occasions in response to American carrier airstrikes on Japanese island bases. Haruna participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, engaging American vessels in the latter.

In 1945, Haruna was transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 28 July 1945.