Force Z under air attack on the morning of
December 10, 1941. Either the destroyer
H.M.S. Electra or H.M.S. Express is in the
foreground, with battleship H.M.S. Prince of Wales
leading battlecruiser H.M.S. Repulse in the background.
On December 10, 1941, just three days after the Japanese sneak attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, two capital ships of the British naval force designated as "Force Z" were destroyed by Japanese air attack off the coast of the peninsula of Malaya. The Battleship H.M.S. Prince of Wales and Battlecruiser H.M.S. Repulse were overwhelmed by land based bomber and torpedo planes of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 22nd Air Flotilla and plunged to the bottom with heavy loss of life.
Overhead photo taken during the
attack, showing H.M.S. Repulse bottom left
and H.M.S. Prince of Wales top right.
Since the primary purpose of sending these capital ships to Singapore was deterrence, the British made no secret of their plan to deploy these vessels. The Japanese were well aware of the impending arrival of the British ships at Singapore. Prime Minister Churchill has been criticized by many researchers for his decision in sending these capital ships to Singapore because of the power and might of Japanese air power in the region that made the ships particularly vulnerable. Even though Churchill did not really have a clear cut plan as to the use or mission of these ships, I do not share that view. The immense power of the Japanese air armadas was not fully realized and appreciated by allied forces at this very early stage of the war in the Pacific. The battleships of United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor had been at anchor, unable to manuever, when attacked, with guns unmanned and crews on relaxed status when the surprise attack commenced. The same held true for the Italian battleships at Taranto harbor when attacked by British carrier based aircraft in November, 1940. The British had been fighting against the Germans since September, 1939 and against the Italians since June, 1940. To this point in the war, no capital ship manuevering at sea had ever been sunk or even seriously damaged by air attack. British commanders were at least optimistic that the antiaircraft armaments, some of which were radar controlled, on their capital ships would be significantly effective against attacking aircraft, and that land-based fighter protection could be obtained from the Royal Air Force squadrons operating in Malaya and Singapore. Their optimism would be a contributing factor in the ultimate fate of H.M.S. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. Repulse, but that could not have been realized on 10 December, 1941. I will not place fault with the British actions here.
H.M.S. Repulse was a battlecruiser of World War I origins. She was fast (30 knots), but not heavily armored. She carried a main battery of six (6) fifteen inch guns for use against surface and shore targets. Her anti-aircraft batteries consisted of the standard British 4 inch weapon fitted to many warships, as well as 2 pounder pom poms, and several automatic weapons of smaller calibers, including probably a few .20 mm oerlikon cannons that became so plentiful aboard ships later in the war. H.M.S. Repulse had been given a thorough refit and upgrade to some of her equipment in 1936, but was not reconstructed and modernized on the same scale as her only sister ship, H.M.S. Renown. She carried an early form of radar at the time of her destruction. H.M.S. Repulse had served in the Royal Navy with distinction and had been used in many theaters of operation.
H.M.S. Repulse underway with forward
turrets trained to starboard
H.M.S. Repulse firing main battery to port
H.M.S. Repulse after her 1936 refit
H.M.S. Prince of Wales at anchor
H.M.S. Prince of Wales as seen in
August, 1941, prior to her departure for Singapore
The Prince of Wales and Repulse arrived in Singapore on December 2, 1941. Force Z was formed under command of Sir Tom Phillips, newly promoted to the rank of full Admiral. In addition to H.M.S. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. Repulse, Force Z would ultimately include available escort vessels stationed in the area. These were destroyers H.M.S. Tenedos, H.M.S. Electra, H.M.S. Express, and the Australian destroyer H.M.A.S. Vampire. A small detachment of elderly United States destroyers was in the area, as well as two additional British destroyers, three elderly British light cruisers of the Danae class (H.M.S. Danae, H.M.S. Durban, and H.M.S. Dragon), and modern colony class light cruiser H.M.S. Mauritius, but none of these warships were ultimately chosen by Admiral Phillips to join up to commence operations with Force Z. Some, including H.M.S. Mauritius, were under repair or refit and thus non-operational at the time.
H.M.A.S Vampire, escorting Australian Destroyer
H.M.S. Electra
H.M.S. Express
H.M.S. Tenedos
The Japanese commenced hostilities against British Singapore on the evening of December 7, 1941 when a group of seventeen Japanese aircraft bombed Singapore. Both British capital ships used their heavy anti-aircraft armaments against the attacking aircraft with no known success. At the same time, Japanese troops landed on the coast of Malaya. Intelligence reports gave Admiral Phillips at least some indication of the strength and number of Japanese naval forces operating off the Malayan coast.
H.M.S. Prince of Wales departing Singapore
H.M.S. Repulse departing Singapore with Force Z
At 5:35 PM on December 8th, Admiral Phillips and Force Z departed Singapore with the intent of breaking up Japanese landing forces reported to be near Singora, despite his having no firm commitment of air cover from the Royal Air Force. Early on the morning of December 9th, the destroyer H.M.A.S. Vampire reported to Admiral Phillips aboard the flagship H.M.S. Prince of Wales that Japanese aircraft had been sighted. This did not at the time cause Admiral Phillips to alter his plans. Then, at approximately 1:45 PM on December 9th, the Japanese submarine I-65 sighted Force Z and signaled a contact report to Japanese Light Cruiser Yura that said, "Two Repulse type enemy battleships spotted course 340 degrees speed 14 knots." The British did not detect the submarine.
At 8:55 PM on December 9th, Admiral Phillips decided to cancel the operation and return to Singapore. He signaled to his commanders that he was aborting the mission due to the fact that Force Z had been spotted by the Japanese, that surprise was lost, that the enemy landing forces would most likely have left by morning, and that Japanese warships in the area would be fully alerted to watch for Force Z. In fact, it was learned after the war that a powerful Japanese surface force was already at sea actively searching for Force Z.
On the morning of December 10th, Admiral Phillips decided to alter course yet again to investigate a report of Japanese troop landings near Kuantan. This decision to cancel the return to Singapore would shortly bring Force Z under intense air attack by Japanese bombers. Shortly after breakfast on December 10th, Admiral Phillips detached H.M.S. Express to reconnoiter Kuantan and also launched Walrus seaplanes from Prince of Wales to search ahead of Force Z. H.M.S. Express returned to report she had found no enemy activity at Kuantan. Admiral Phillips then detached elderly destroyer H.M.S. Tenedos to allow her to return to Singapore to re-fuel. Before 11:00 AM, destroyer Tenedos came under Japanese air attack. Through the skillful manuevering of her commanding officer, the Tenedos survived the attacks while urgently transmitting to Admiral Phillips that she was under air attack. Admiral Phillips realized the remainder of Force Z would undoubtedly soon come under attack as well.
Japanese "Betty" bomber or torpedo aircraft
Japanese "Nell" bomber aircraft
Finally, at 11:18 AM on the morning of December 10, 1941, Force Z came under air attack by a group of Japanese twin-engined bombers code named "Nells" by the allies. These bombers concentrated their attack on H.M.S. Repulse. The Repulse and her escorts responded with intense anti-aircraft fire. H.M.S. Repulse sustained one hit from a 250 kg aerial bomb, which penetrated the deck and caused serious casualties, although it did little to hinder her fighting capability. Now it was Prince of Wales' turn. She was presently attacked from multiple angles by nine Japanese torpedo bombers code named "Bettys" by the allies. The British had not yet experienced the devastating effects of the Japanese 24 inch "long lance" torpedoes, which carried large warheads and could travel at speeds of 41 knots, but they were about to.
An artist's depiction of the attack on Force Z
Force Z under heavy air attack
Artist rendering of H.M.S. Repulse being attacked
Another depiction of the attack on H.M.S. Repulse
H.M.S. Prince of Wales sinking. Note the
5.25 inch secondary battery turret in the foreground.
The crew of H.M.S. Prince of Wales abandons
ship as the battleship lists to port after being heavily damaged.
H.M.S. Prince of Wales after being heavily damaged
Admiral Phillips dispatched urgent signals to Singapore requesting air support and additional destroyers to be sent, advising Singapore that his ship was not under control. H.M.S. Prince of Wales lasted less than an hour longer than her consort before sliding into the abyss with heavy loss of life. Destroyers Electra, Express, and Vampire were not specifically targeted to any degree and sustained little or no damage.
Destroyers picking up survivors in the water
An artist's rendering of the wreck of H.M.S. Repulse
on the ocean floor
A drawing of the wreck of the
H.M.S. Prince of Wales at the bottom of the ocean
off the coast of Malaya