they detonated), destroying the hydraulic pumps which jammed her rear 14-inch turrets and steering, setting her superstructure afire, and causing flooding that led to an 18 degree list to starboard. Initially, the light cruiser attempted to tow her out of Ironbottom Sound. When it became clear she could not be salvaged, the surviving Japanese destroyers evacuated Captain Iwabuchi and the remaining survivors. Kirishima capsized and sank at 03:25 on the morning of 15 November 1942, with 212 crewmen lost. Wreck Kirishimas wreck was discovered by Robert Ballard during an expedition to map the wrecks from the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1992. She lies upside down, with her bow section missing from the bridge forward due to a magazine explosion. Her anchor chain is wrapped around her stern section. Ballard's investigation of the wreck unfortunately was aborted due to a technical emergency, resulting in the dive only lasting some nine minutes. This severely limited any information or images obtained. A further expedition to the wreck by Paul Allen's in January 2019 provided detailed information on both the damage received during the battle and confirms the subsequent detonation of her forward main magazines during the sinking process. Notes Footnotes Citations References Jackson, Robert (2000). The World's Great Battleships. Brown Books. Jackson, Robert (editor) (2008). 101 Great Warships. London. Amber Books. McCurtie, Francis (1989) [1945]. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. London: Bracken Books. Stille, Cdr Mark (2008). Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship 1941–1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. Willmott, H.P. & Keegan, John [1999] (2002). The Second World War in the Far East. Smithsonian Books. External links Construction of Kirishima Kongō-class battlecruisers Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1913 ships Second Sino-Japanese War naval ships of Japan World War II battleships of Japan Shipwrecks in Ironbottom Sound Maritime incidents in November 1942 1992 archaeological discoveries