On November 21st, 1944, Kongo was heading towards Kure with the first fleet, which included Yamato, Nagato, and several other destroyers. While heading towards Kure, the US submarine, USS Sealion (SS-315), made radar contact with the fleet. Sealion fired six torpedoes, two hitting Kongo and a third sinking the Japanese destroyer Urakaze. The Kongo was taking on water and broke off from the fleet. She was listing at a 45 degree angle and the crew abandoned ship. During the evacuation, the front 14-inch magazine detonated and the ship rapidly sunk with over half of the crew. Only 237 survivors were rescued by the Hamakaze and Isokaze destroyers. rochestermilitary.com
