The Sinking Of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse

The Sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse

Admiral Sir Tom Phillips (right)

Prince Of Wales

The Sinking of Prince Of Wales and Repulse was a Second World War naval engagement which occurred at the North of Singapore, near Kuantan,Pahang. The British Royal Navy Ship HMS Prince Of Wales and  HMS Repulse were sunk by bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy on the 10 December 1941. 

Repulse

The objective of Force Z, which consisted of only one battleship, one battlecruiser and four destroyers, was to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet north of Malaya. However, it sailed without any support from air, which had been declined by Admiral Sir Thomas Phillips, the commander of Force Z, in favor of maintaining radio silence.  However,the force failed to find and destroy the main convoy. On their return to Singapore, they were attacked in the waters and sunk by long-range bombers.

 It is believed that these four factors influenced his decision: he thought that Japanese planes could not operate so far from land, he thought that his ships were relatively immune from fatal damage via air attack, he was unaware of the quality of Japanese bombing and torpedo aircraft, and lastly, Phillips underestimated the fighting abilities of the Japanese.

No. 453 Squadron RAAF was to provide air cover for Force Z. No request for air cover was sent until an hour after the Japanese attack began. Flight Lieutenant Tim Vigors planned to order six aircraft over Force Z , but this was not approved by Phillips.They were later bombed down together with their ships at a later date.

 The sinking of the two ships severely weakened the Eastern Fleet in Singapore, and the Japanese invasion fleet was only engaged by submarines until the Battle Of Endau on the 27 January 1942.

Destroyers Electra and Vampire  rescued the survivors of Repulse, while Express rescued those from the Prince Of Wales. 840 sailors were lost, 513 from Repulse and 327 from Prince Of Wales.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_Prince_of_Wales_and_Repulse(Date accessed:16 February 2013)
Images: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_Prince_of_Wales_and_Repulse(Date found:16 February 2013)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRMLFy67VEw(Date found:16 February 2013)