United Kingdom Japan 1941 1942 The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a naval engagement in World War II, as part of the war in the Pacific, that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South China Sea off the east coast of the British colonies of Malaya (present-day Malaysia) and the Straits Settlements (present-day Singapore and its coastal towns), 70 miles (61 nautical miles; 110 kilometres) east of Kuantan, Pahang.

The objective of Force Z, which consisted of one battleship, one battlecruiser and four destroyers, was to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet in the South China Sea north of Malaya.

The commander of Force Z, Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, elected to maintain radio silence and an alert was not sent (by the Repulse) until one hour after the first Japanese attack.

[6] Once at Cape Town, a review would decide whether to send the ship onward to Singapore;[7] this would keep Prince of Wales available to respond to an emergency in home waters.

[8] In December 1941, as a deterrent to Japanese territorial expansion which was recently demonstrated by the invasion of French Indochina, it was proposed that a force of Royal Navy warships be dispatched to the Far East with a view to providing reinforcement for Britain's possessions there, most notably Singapore.

First Sea Lord Sir Dudley Pound represented that Singapore could be adequately defended only if the Royal Navy sent the majority of its capital ships there, to achieve parity with an estimated force of nine Japanese battleships.

Nevertheless, Churchill appeared optimistic about the improving situation in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean; he advocated sending two capital ships along with an aircraft carrier to defend Malaya, Borneo and the Straits Settlements.

[14] Admiral of the Home Fleet Sir John Tovey was opposed to sending any of the new King George V battleships as he believed that they were not suited to operating in tropical waters.

Indeed the humid climate of Malaya would negatively affect the capabilities of the Prince of Wales, such as the breakdown of her surface search radars, deterioration of her anti-aircraft ammunition, and increased crew fatigue due to the lack of air conditioning.

[15] Force G, consisting of the modern battleship Prince of Wales, the First World War era battlecruiser Repulse, and the four destroyers HMS Electra, Express, Encounter and Jupiter, arrived at Singapore on 2 December 1941.

The new aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable was allocated to Force G, but whilst working up off Jamaica, she had run aground in the entrance to Kingston harbour on 3 November 1941.

Another aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes (which was with Prince of Wales at Cape Town), was on passage to Singapore to join Force Z, but was not deployed due to lack of speed.

A few days later, Repulse left for Australia with HMAS Vampire and HMS Tenedos, but the force was recalled to Singapore to assemble for possible operations against the Japanese.

Phillips had concluded in an earlier discussion with US General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Thomas C. Hart that his two capital ships were insufficient to confront the Japanese.

[27] However, the extreme heat and humidity in Malayan waters rendered her anti-aircraft fire control radars unserviceable and her 2 pounder ammunition had deteriorated as well.

At the outset of hostilities [US] Admiral Hart thought of sending his small striking force north of Luzon to challenge Japanese communications, but decided that the risk to his ships outweighed the possible gain because the enemy had won control of the air.

[31]After receiving word of a Japanese convoy bound for Malaya, Force Z, consisting of Prince of Wales, Repulse, Electra, Express, Vampire and Tenedos, sailed from Singapore at 17:10 on 8 December.

After this contact report, Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa, in command of the invasion force, ordered most of his warships to escort the empty transports back to Cam Ranh Bay in southern Vietnam.

At 10:15, a scout plane to the north of most of the Japanese aircraft piloted by Ensign Masato Hoashi spotted Force Z and sent out a message detailing their exact position.

The torpedo damage also denied her much of her auxiliary electrical power, vital for internal communications, ventilation, steering gear, and pumps, and for training and elevation of the 5.25-inch and 2-pounder gun mounts.

Another torpedo attack was carried out by 26 Betty bombers of the Kanoya Air Group at approximately 12:20,[50] and Prince of Wales was hit by another three torpedoes on her starboard side (some historical accounts[45] state four hits, but the 2007 survey of the hull showed there had been only three); one at the very bow, one opposite B main gun turret, and one abaft Y turret which not only punctured the hull but bent the outer starboard propeller shaft inboard and over the inner shaft, stopping it instantly.

[52] She had been hit seriously and Captain William Tennant soon ordered the crew overboard; Repulse listed heavily to port over a period of about six minutes[53] and finally rolled over and sank stern first at 12:33 with heavy casualties.

Soon Prince of Wales started to capsize to port (even though she had taken more torpedo hits to starboard) and HMS Express came alongside to take off the wounded and non-fighting crew.

They encountered a scouting aircraft piloted by Ensign Masato Hoashi, who had discovered Force Z earlier,[60] but it managed to escape the Buffalos and returned to confirm the sinkings.

On returning to Singapore the rescued Captain Tennant was greeted by an equally-distressed Air Vice-Marshal Pulford, who exclaimed My God, I hope you don’t blame me for this.

[61] According to the London Gazette report by Vigors: It was obvious that the three destroyers were going to take hours to pick up those hundreds of men clinging to bits of wreckage and swimming around in the filthy, oily water.

One was for the fellow members of his Kanoya Air Group, while the other was for the British sailors whose display of bravery in defence of the ships had gained them the utmost admiration from all pilots in his squadron.

Tom Phillips is drowned.Churchill: Are you sure it's true?Pound: There is no doubt at all.Churchill hangs up In all the war, I never received a more direct shock... As I turned over and twisted in bed the full horror of the news sank in upon me.

Furthermore, Prince of Wales was a new battleship with passive and active anti-aircraft defences against contemporary aircraft, being equipped with the advanced HACS, although it was largely inoperable during the battle.

[68] The expedition's findings sparked considerable interest among naval architects and marine engineers around the world, because they detailed the nature of the damage to Prince of Wales and the location and number of torpedo hits for the first time.